| Summary: | Using bone scaffolds in tissue engineering is an important alternative to regenerate loose bone and promote cell adhesion. The main element of the bone scaffold is porosity. However, this porosity affects the structure's strength and leads to fracture when exposed to simulated mechanical load. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of porosity on the strength of bone scaffold structures based on the fracture mechanism. The study used experimental and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) methods to analyse the effect of porosity between 0% to 70%. Three samples with 0%, 50%, and 60% porosity were then used to validate the FEA model. The study showed that the maximum tensile force decreases exponentially as porosity increases. The experiment revealed an 81% and 64% reduction in maximum tensile force for 0% and 30% porosity, respectively. The FEA results also demonstrated a similar pattern, with an 81% and 68% reduction in maximum tensile force for 0% and 30% porosity, respectively. The average difference between each porosity in the experiment was 38%, while the FEA results showed a 37% difference. The study found that the maximum tensile stress experienced by the bone scaffold decreases as the porosity increases, with a 55% average difference between the experimental and FEA results. The study's findings suggest that porosity significantly affects the strength of bone scaffold structures. Therefore, proper consideration is necessary while designing a bone scaffold to ensure it is mechanically suited and compatible with cell attachment for tissue engineering. Although the stress experienced by the structure was similar to that experienced by the material properties of PLA under strain, the study highlights the importance of understanding the effect of porosity on bone scaffold strength for efficient tissue engineering. © School of Engineering, Taylor’s University.
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