Multiscale mechanics of macromolecular materials with unfolding domains

TL;DR

This paper introduces a multiscale model for the mechanical behavior of macromolecular networks with unfolding domains, linking microscale unfolding mechanisms to macroscale continuum responses, and validating with experimental data.

Contribution

It presents a novel multiscale approach that derives a 3D continuum model from microscale unfolding strategies, capturing complex biological material behaviors.

Findings

Model accurately describes residual stretches and unfolding effects.

Analytical energy function derived from microscale parameters.

Good agreement with experimental observations.

Abstract

We propose a general multiscale approach for the mechanical behavior of three-dimensional networks of macromolecules undergoing strain-induced unfolding. Starting from a (statistically based) energetic analysis of the macromolecule unfolding strategy, we obtain a three-dimensional continuum model with variable natural configuration and an energy function analytically deduced from the microscale material parameters. The comparison with the experiments shows the ability of the model to describe the complex behavior, with residual stretches and unfolding effects, observed in different biological materials.