Articular cartilage (AC) is a dense connective tissue in the diarthrodial joints. Osteoarthritis is a disease associated with progressive changes in the tissue structure which affects mechanical properties of the tissue. Experimental studies show that abnormal/excessive mechanical loading or changes in biochemical composition can alter the structure which leads to degradation and loss of stiffness. In this study, deformation-induced degradation of human knee articular cartilage is investigated by conducting excessive deformations and inspecting progressive changes in mechanical properties of the tissue. Evolution of the properties is formulated to predict the amount of damage and consequently to connect the loss of stiffness to the grade of osteoarthritis. It is shown that, for tensile strains up to almost 15%, the tissue may recover its initial properties without permanent damage but for higher deformations degradation is expected. The proposed model is not confined to tension as the evolution laws are expressed in a 3D framework. The model predicts higher thresholds for compression and shear (25–30%) which is in good correlation with experimental investigations. It is concluded that, modelling the alterations of mechanical properties can be an effective method for predicting degradation of the AC under excessive loading and its connection to the associated diseases.

关节软骨（AC）是指穿刺关节中的致密结缔组织。骨关节炎是与组织结构的进行性改变相关的疾病，其影响组织的机械特性。实验研究表明，异常/过度的机械负荷或生化成分的变化会改变结构，从而导致降解和刚度下降。在这项研究中，通过进行过度的变形并检查组织力学性能的逐步变化，研究了变形诱发的人膝关节软骨退化。通过制定性能演变来预测损伤的程度，从而将刚度的丧失与骨关节炎的等级联系起来。结果表明，对于高达几乎15％的拉伸应变，组织可以恢复其初始特性而不会造成永久性损坏，但是对于更高的变形，可以预期会退化。由于在3D框架中表达了演化规律，因此提出的模型并不局限于张力。该模型预测压缩和剪切的阈值较高（25–30％），与实验研究高度相关。结论是，对机械性能的变化进行建模可以成为预测AC在过量负载下的降解及其与相关疾病的联系的有效方法。该模型预测压缩和剪切的阈值较高（25–30％），与实验研究高度相关。结论是，对机械性能的变化进行建模可以成为预测AC在过量负载下的降解及其与相关疾病的联系的有效方法。该模型预测压缩和剪切的阈值较高（25–30％），与实验研究高度相关。结论是，对机械性能的变化进行建模可以成为预测AC在过量负载下的降解及其与相关疾病的联系的有效方法。