Porcine dermis in uniaxial cyclic loading: Sample preparation, experimental results and modeling

We present a straightforward technique to prepare thin samples of planar or bulky soft tissue with very accurate geometry. The experimental procedure includes the preparation of thin slices of tissue by means of a surgical dermatome and specimen extraction by die cutters. We illustrate this method in application to porcine dermal tissue. The prepared specimens were subjected to uniaxial cyclic tension along and across the lines of cleavage with increasing upper stretch limits. Besides a distinct anisotropic and nonlinear behavior, cyclic loading caused considerable preconditioning effects including softening and substantial residual deformations. This observed behavior is well represented by a recently proposed constitutive model accounting for the elastic and dissipative behavior of soft tissues.