Modeling Surgically-Motivated Geometric Manipulations on Flat Elastic Material
Session Number
1
Advisor(s)
Anna Gaffney, Nhung Nguyen, University of Chicago, Department of Surgery
Location
A129
Discipline
Engineering
Start Date
15-4-2026 10:15 AM
End Date
15-4-2026 11:00 AM
Abstract
Surgical procedures often involve strategic incision, suturing, and deformation of tissue, resulting in deliberate geometric manipulation of material. Such manipulations impose local deficits or excesses of material, in the form of conical singularities or disclinations, leading to geometric material responses (eg. emergence of ridges, conical regions, and stress localization). As fundamental components of surgical procedures on flat tissue (e.g., Z-plasty) and curved native tissue (e.g., anastomosis, strictureplasty), imposed conical singularities can lead to tissue damage and further surgical intervention if remote stress localization is not addressed. Using Abaqus, we perform finite element (FE) simulations of elastic sheets subjected to imposed geometric manipulation through interacting conical singularities: two deficit point singularities (cone:cone), two excess point singularities (e-cone:e-cone), and an interacting excess–deficit pair (e-cone:cone). The simulations capture resulting material deformations, including stress localization and the formation of conical structures. We utilize MATLAB for post-processing to quantify changes in material shape and analyze the large-scale geometry of resulting conical structures. Characterizing how these imposed defects shape the geometric structure and stress localization of a flat and cylindrical system is essential in improving patient post-operative recovery.
Modeling Surgically-Motivated Geometric Manipulations on Flat Elastic Material
A129
Surgical procedures often involve strategic incision, suturing, and deformation of tissue, resulting in deliberate geometric manipulation of material. Such manipulations impose local deficits or excesses of material, in the form of conical singularities or disclinations, leading to geometric material responses (eg. emergence of ridges, conical regions, and stress localization). As fundamental components of surgical procedures on flat tissue (e.g., Z-plasty) and curved native tissue (e.g., anastomosis, strictureplasty), imposed conical singularities can lead to tissue damage and further surgical intervention if remote stress localization is not addressed. Using Abaqus, we perform finite element (FE) simulations of elastic sheets subjected to imposed geometric manipulation through interacting conical singularities: two deficit point singularities (cone:cone), two excess point singularities (e-cone:e-cone), and an interacting excess–deficit pair (e-cone:cone). The simulations capture resulting material deformations, including stress localization and the formation of conical structures. We utilize MATLAB for post-processing to quantify changes in material shape and analyze the large-scale geometry of resulting conical structures. Characterizing how these imposed defects shape the geometric structure and stress localization of a flat and cylindrical system is essential in improving patient post-operative recovery.