It has been a long-standing problem in the engineering design of bra for optimal support and shaping due to the difficulty of quantifying the hyper-elastic properties of human breasts. The objective of this study is to determine an optimal approach to obtain the non-linear properties of breast soft tissues and the corresponding deformations during motions. The Mooney-Rivlin material parameters of the breasts in-vivo were verified through an optimization process that involved iteratively changing the material coefficients with the integration of static and dynamic finite element models. Theoretical equations of a rigid-flexible coupled system during the motion of forward-leaning were established with gravitational, centrifugal and Coriolis forces to simulate the dynamic deformation of the flexible breasts. The resultant, optimally generated, coefficients of the Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic material type for the breast were found. This new set of breast material coefficients was verified by finite element analysis of the breast deformation during forward-leaning and running movement. The method proposed in this study provides an effective way to determine the breast properties for predicting breast deformation and analysis of the bra-breast contact mechanism and thus, improving the design of bras.
Keywords: Breast deformation; Finite element method; Forward-leaning; Hyperelastic; Material property.
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