Paweł Kłosowski

Physical and mathematical modelling of implant–fascia system in order to improve laparoscopic repair of ventral hernia

BACKGROUND This paper describes an investigation of biomechanical behaviour of hernia repair, which is focused on the selection of safe linking of certain type of implant with fascia in laparoscopic operation. The strength of various fixations of the implant to the fascia is analysed. METHODS The research is based on experimental observations of operated hernia model behaviour during a dynamic impulse load corresponding to post-operative cough. Fifty seven different types of models of implanted mesh are considered. Five types of implants and five types of connectors are used. Mechanical properties of the implants as well as limit tearing forces of joints are identified in uni-axial tensile tests. Mathematical model of implanted mesh based on finite element method is proposed. The identified mechanical properties of the materials are applied and the model is calibrated using quantities measured during experiments. FINDINGS The presented results point at trans-abdominal sutures and ProTacks (connectors) and at DynaMesh (implant) as the most reliable materials used in ventral hernia operation, in the tested materials group. Desired properties of implants seem to be: elastic properties similar to the properties of tissues and high local strength, as fixation have a local character. The proposed mathematical model can be applied to simulate real behaviour of an implant with appropriate accuracy and to estimate the number of tacks for the implantation of hernia meshes. INTERPRETATION The presented results may help in the deeper understanding of the fascia-mesh system behaviour, and thus may lead to improve the fixation methods.

Mechanical properties of polyvinyl chloride-coated fabric under cyclic tests

The aim of the present paper is to propose a method of laboratory tests necessary for the identification of mechanical properties of the coated fabric. The material parameters of the coated fabric AF 9032 are specified on the basis of the uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests. For the identification process, the techniques based on the least squares methods are used. Additionally, the uniaxial and biaxial cyclic tests are performed in order to observe a change of immediate mechanical properties under cyclic load.

Mechanical testing of technical woven fabrics

This article presents a review of technical fabrics testing methods used by the authors on the basis of their experience with research on properties of polytetrefluoroethylene-coated fabrics used for Forest Opera in Sopot (Poland). First, the different types of testing methods used for description of mechanical properties (uniaxial tensile tests, biaxial tensile tests and shear tests) of technical woven fabrics are described. The authors present the collection of test methods and discuss the results of these tests for different fabrics. Finally, the effects of temperature on mechanical properties are studied.

Influence of thermal effects on mechanical properties of PVDF-coated fabric

This paper describes the method of laboratory tests necessary for identification of temperature influence on mechanical properties of polyvinylidene fluoride-coated polyester fabric often used for tensile structures. Two nonlinear model descriptions are investigated. The first one is based on the piece-wise linear relations between stress and strain and the second one on the Murnaghan model of solid behavior. This paper is proposed as an introduction to the comprehensive investigation on thermal changes of material properties of coated woven fabrics.

EXPERIMENTS AND SIMULATIONS FOR LAPAROSCOPIC VENTRAL HERNIA REPAIR IMPROVEMENT

The authors conducted a wide experimental and numerical study in order to determine effective approaches in the laparoscopic VH repair. At first the study covered identification of mechanical properties of the abdominal fascia, implants, tacks and transabdominalsutures. Basis on these data, the one and two-dimensional mathematical models were formulated and a number of numerical static and dynamic analyses were carried out. Then various physical models of the fascia-mesh system were built in many configurations, using a porcine fascia, a few kinds of implants and tacks.

Influence of service ageing on polyester-reinforced polyvinyl chloride-coated fabrics reported through mathematical material models

In this paper the coupled service (constructional tension) and environmental (sunlight, rainfalls, temperature variations) ageing influence on the polyester-reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-coated fabric VALMEX is studied. Two cases of the same fabric have been analyzed: one USED for 20 years on the real construction of the Forest Opera in Sopot (Poland), and one kept as a spare material (NOT USED). The following tests have been conducted: uniaxial tensile, biaxial tensile and long-term creep tests. The obtained results have been used for the parameter identification of the piecewise non-linear, Burgers and Bodner–Partom models. Next, the analysis of the influence of environmental conditions on the parameters of these models has been made. It has been concluded that some parameters are more and the others are less sensitive to the exposure to environmental and mechanical conditions. The change of material parameters for fill threads (due to larger deformation) is higher. The obtained results may be useful in the durability evaluation of the textile membranes reinforced with polyester threads and PVC coated. All the constitutive models with the identified parameters may be used for the numerical analysis of structures made of fabrics at the service beginning and after long-term usage.

Mechanical properties of Precontraint 1202 S2 based on uniaxial tensile and creep tests

The purpose of the paper is the estimation of the polyvinyl chloride – polyester-coated fabric (Precontraint 1202 S2) mechanical properties under uniaxial tensile tests as well as short- and long-time creep tests. The uniaxial tests are the basis of non-linear elastic description while the creep tests are used for the evaluation of the stiffness parameters in time and for the identification of the standard viscoelastic model. The paper also includes a short survey of literature concerning the coated woven fabric description.