AN ELASTIC COMPOUND TUBE MODEL FOR A SINGLE OSTEON

A model is developed whereby the secondary osteon-the dominant microst ructural component of the cortical bone tissue-is considered as an n-l ayered cylinder with internal stresses in linear isotropic elasticity. An exact solution is obtained for a loading condition represented by a tensile-compressive force. The lengthening, the side deformation, an d the strain energy of the system are explicitly calculated. The behav ior of the main elastic quantities is illustrated by graphs. In partic ular, the important role played by the parity of the number of lamella e is revealed.