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Purpose: Despite extensive literature available on the mechanical properties of knee ligaments and menisci, research on the mechanical properties of the meniscus-capsular junction (MCJ) is lacking. This study aims to investigate the biomechanical behavior of the MCJ of the medial meniscus using a tensile failure test., Materials and Methods: Seven dissected cadaveric knees were used for biomechanical analysis. Tensile failure tests were performed using an INSTRON ElectroPuls E1000 stress system to measure stress/strain curves, maximum load at failure, elastic limit load, elongation at break, elongation at the elastic limit, and linear stiffness, were collected and analyzed., Results: All ruptures occurred at the MCJ. The MCJ displayed similar mechanical properties to knee ligaments. Average values were: maximum load at failure (63.9 ± 3.2 N), yield load (52.9 N ± 2.6 N), elongation at break (2.5 mm ± 0.3 mm), elongation at the elastic limit (1.25 mm ± 0.15 mm), strain at break (47.0% ± 3.5%), strain at yield (23.2% ± 2.3%), and stiffness (56.6 ± 9. N/mm -1 )., Conclusion: The meniscus-capsular junction's mechanical properties are similar to other knee ligaments and may play a role in knee stability. The findings provide insights into the the behavior of the meniscus-capsular junction could have clinical implications for diagnosing and surgical treatment of meniscocapsular lesions., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

In this paper we propose a methodology for a fast numerical determination of low cycle fatigue lifetime of superelastic shape memory alloy structures. This method is based on the observation that generally, in low cycle fatigue, shape memory alloy (SMA) structures are subject to loadings that lead to a confined non-linear behaviour at stress concentration points, such as notches. Numerical fatigue lifetime prediction requires the computation of the mechanical state at critical points. However, classical computational methods, like the non-linear finite element method, lead to a prohibitive computation time in a non-linear cyclic framework. To overcome this issue, we propose to use fast prediction methods, based on localization laws. Following the determination of the stabilized behaviour, an energetic fatigue criterion is applied. The numerical fatigue life prediction model is validated experimentally on SMA endodontic instruments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)