Mechanical properties of model synthetic tendons.

Model synthetic tendons consisting of 20 vol % of texturized poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers and of the water-swollen poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) matrix have the tensile modulus E = 1.5 +/- 0.1 GPa, strength and strain-at-break sigma b = 85 +/- 10 MPa and epsilon b = 0.08 +/- 0.02. The force required for breaking tendons with the diameters 2, 3, 4 mm is, respectively, 300, 500, and 960 N. By these properties model synthetic tendons closely imitate the properties of natural tendons. Long-term (100 min) and repeated short-term (30 times 1 min) creep shows that on loading model tendons lose some 10% of their stiffness, but that the whole deformation is reversible. The shape of the compliance vs. time dependence of synthetic tendons closely resembles the dependence determined for the parent fiber. The stiffness and strength of a tendon are given by those of the fiber bundle used; by varying fiber volume fraction, it is possible to adjust the required mechanical properties of tendons.