| NSF Org: |
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 21, 2024 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 21, 2024 |
| Award Number: | 2331294 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Shivani Sharma
shisharm@nsf.gov (703)292-4204 CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | April 1, 2024 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2027 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $370,164.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $370,164.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
202 HIMES HALL BATON ROUGE LA US 70803-0001 (225)578-2760 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
202 HIMES HALL BATON ROUGE LA US 70803-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
BMMB-Biomech & Mechanobiology, EPSCoR Co-Funding |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041, 47.083 |
ABSTRACT
The human brain exhibits complex mechanical behavior. Its deformation under external forces depends on the extent and speed of loading. Rapid deformation of the brain during events such as blasts and automotive crashes can cause traumatic brain injury. Understanding the mechanical behavior of the human brain under such extreme conditions is critical to developing computer models for predicting brain injury. This knowledge is also needed to design safer personal protective equipment and brain injury management and prevention strategies. Unfortunately, the current understanding of the mechanical behavior of living humans' brains is restricted to small deformations and a narrow range of loading rates that do not represent the full spectrum of injury-causing conditions. This award supports fundamental research combining high-rate mechanical testing, analytical and computational modeling, and machine learning to generate insights into how the living human brain responds to large and rapid loading. Results from this research will positively impact U.S. national health and welfare and will contribute to the fields of tissue mechanics, traumatic brain injury, and machine learning. This project will lead to new courses and involve contributions from underrepresented minorities.
The overarching goal of this research is to understand the high strain rate mechanics of the brain in its native biophysical environment. The first stage will focus on tissue responses under small deformations and dynamic strain rates. Wide-band Magnetic Resonance Elastography experiments will be conducted on brain tissue specimens from multiple brain regions to develop linear viscoelastic constitutive models. Multi-fidelity models will be developed to fuse the observed responses with available narrow-band in vivo brain tissue responses for predicting linear viscoelastic properties of the in vivo brain tissue in a wide range of loading frequencies. The second stage will focus on tissue responses under large deformations and extreme strain rates. Quasi-static and dynamic mechanical testing will be conducted to develop visco-hyperelastic constitutive models. Physics-informed multi-fidelity models will be developed to fuse the ex vivo visco-hyperelastic responses with the in vivo linear viscoelastic responses characterized in the previous stage. This study will significantly advance our understanding of brain biomechanics by generating insights into the relationship between in vivo and ex vivo tissue mechanics and the first-ever full-field maps of the living brain?s mechanical properties applicable under extreme loading conditions.
This project is jointly funded by the Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB) program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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