Let’s Get Cracking!
Decalcifying chicken bones for testing.Copyright 2019 Diane M. Walsh, University of Connecticut RET
In this activity, students become biomedical and material engineers as they analyze material characteristics, composite characteristics and properties of a chicken bone under force. To understand these material characteristics, students perform a battery of tests at various “stations” around the classroom that evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a product based on the material characteristics of its component materials.
Biomedical engineers conduct tibia repair and replacement research on large animals such as pigs, sheep, and goats prior to transferring their research onto human clinical trials. Some biomedical engineers study animals in order to understand the quantitative mechanical properties of bones on a smaller level before devising tests for humans. Likewise, materials science engineers study the properties of materials and composites to develop the safest and strongest materials for those replacements.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a product based on the material characteristics of its component materials.
- Describe what is meant by stress, strain, and Young’s Modulus.
- Understand stress-strain and force-displacement relationships.
- Differentiate between compression and tension.
- Apply a force sensor to a sample to collect and analyze data.
- Explain the role of a materials and/or biomedical engineer.
- Work as a team to construct a model consistent with a design and given specifications.