Learning Forum

[Wazawaki]

Hello,

I'm trying to simulate the deformation of the red blood cell using the neo-Hookean model. But it seems the initial shear modulus doesn't affect the rigidity of the cell. I'm using shear modulus from literature ranging from 7.5 to 22.5 micronewtons/metre. But the deformation is the same for each force applied to the cell, would anyone know what may be causing this?

[peteroznewman]

Look at the equation for the strain energy potential, W shown below. There are two terms, the first term controlled by initial shear modulus and the second term controlled by the material incompressibility parameter. You don't say what you are using for d, but if you examine this equation using your two parameter values, you might find the second term dominates, which would explain why changes in the initial shear modulus have no effect on the deformation.