Fig. 8.

Strain distribution in models with different amounts of intrafibrillar mineralization. The applied tensile strain to the model was 0.01 in the vertical direction. For the ease of strain visualization in mineral and collagen phases, cohesive elements were masked. Increased strain in intrafibrillar region of the model with higher intrafibrillar mineralization was observed. The ratio of average mineral/collagen and collagen/tissue strain were different for two models (see values reported in Table 2). The mineral/collagen strain ratio was higher for model with 15% intrafibrillar mineralization, in line with our synchrotron X-ray measurements of the in situ strain values.