Research Information System
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, vol.22, no.1, pp.68-78, 2024 (ESCI)
This study focuses on investigating the femoral bone properties of both caged and free-range chickens using the mechanical test techniques. Intact femurs extracted from both caged and free-range chickens were subjected experimentally to three-point bending and tensile tests to obtain the material properties. Each test has performed particular applications considering the relevant standards. Two different modular fixtures were developed and used to calculate the mechanical properties of the chicken femurs. This study aims to investigate the usability of the chicken femurs for biomechanical studies to imitate human bones in terms of strength and define the property differences between the caged and free-range hens' femurs. The results were presented and some significant femur differences were observed between the two groups of hens' femurs. The modulus of elasticity (E) and ultimate strength (sigma(UTS)) values of the free-range hens' femurs were found to be about 51% and 15% higher than the caged hen's femurs. The findings of the present study were found to be compatible with those of the studies in the literature. The results suggested that the chicken intact femurs can be used in biomechanical studies for orthopaedic applications instead of the real human bone material model with similar properties.