The knee meniscus is a fibrous soft tissue that is frequently torn. Prevention and treatment requires an understanding of failure mechanisms. Important failure properties are currently unknown, including the magnitude and orientation of principal strains at failure. This information is needed to inform predictive failure theories.
8 human meniscal samples were failed in tension, and surface strains were tracked using a previously validated high-speed digital image correlation system.
Results suggest that failures occur at 44°, along the maximum shearing plane when testing along the reinforcing fibers, and at 6° along the maximum tensile plane when testing normal to reinforcing fibers
