Abstract Neck pain is a major inhibitor affecting the performance of U.S. military personnel. Repetitive exposure to cyclic loading due to military activities over several years can lead to accumulation of fatigue damage in the cervical intervertebral disc annuli, leading to neck pain. We have developed a computational damage model based on continuum damage mechanics, to predict fatigue damage to cervical disc annuli over several years of exposure to military loading scenarios. By integrating this fatigue damage model with a finite element model of the cervical spine, we have overcome the underlying assumption of a uniform stress distribution in the annulus. The resulting element-wise damage prediction gives us insight into the location of damage initiation and pattern of fatigue damage progression in the cervical disc annulus.

中文翻译：

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基于有限元分析的颈椎椎间盘环疲劳损伤预测

摘要 颈部疼痛是影响美军人员工作表现的主要障碍。数年因军事活动而反复承受循环负荷，可导致颈椎间盘环疲劳损伤累积，导致颈部疼痛。我们开发了一种基于连续损伤力学的计算损伤模型，以预测在多年暴露于军事载荷情况下对颈椎间盘环的疲劳损伤。通过将该疲劳损伤模型与颈椎有限元模型相结合，我们克服了椎间盘内应力分布均匀的基本假设。由此产生的逐元素损伤预测使我们深入了解颈椎间盘环中损伤起始的位置和疲劳损伤进展的模式。