ANSI/ASAE S459 MAR1992 (R2012)

Shear and Three-Point Bending Test of Animal Bone

American Society of
Agricultural and Biological Engineers

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ANSI/ASAE S459 MAR1992 (R2012)
Approved February 1993; reaffirmed February 2012 as an American National Standard

Shear and Three-Point Bending Test of Animal Bone

Developed by the ASAE Physical Properties of Agricultural Products

Committee: approved by the ASAE Food and Process Engineering
Institute Standards Committee; adopted by ASAE March 1992; approved
as an American National Standard February 1993; revised editorially and
reaffirmed by ASAE December 1996; reaffirmed by ANSI March 1998;
reaffirmed by ASAE December 2001, January 2007; reaffirmed by ANSI
January 2007; reaffirmed by ASABE January 2012; reaffirmed by ANSI
February 2012.

Keywords: Animal, Bone, Test

1 Purpose
1.1 This Standard is designed for use in determining the mechanical
properties of animal bones such as the ultimate shear strength, ultimate
bending strength, apparent modulus of elasticity, and fracture energy.

2 Scope
2.1 Shear and bending tests of intact animal bones provide an objective
method for evaluating the effects of age, sex, nutrition, contaminants,
and environment on the physical condition of the animal.
2.2 Understanding the problems encountered in evaluating the
mechanical properties of animal bones and attempting to compare the
results of previous investigators, has led to the need for a standard
procedure for testing, data interpretation, and reporting of results.
2.3 The type of test selected, shear or three-point bending, will be
dependent on the size and shape of the bone. The three-point bending
tests should be used only when the bone is straight, has a symmetrical
cross section, and has a support length to diameter ratio greater than 10.
The shear test is good for any size or shape of bone.
2.4 Determination of the shear or bending properties of animal bone
requires the development of a force-deformation curve. From a shear
force-deformation curve, ultimate shear force, ultimate shear strength
(stress), and fracture energy can be obtained. From a bending force-
deformation curve, ultimate bending force, deformation to fracture,
ultimate bending strength (stress), apparent modulus of elasticity, and
fracture energy can be obtained. Any of these mechanical properties can
be used for the purpose of evaluation, and it is recommended that more
than one property be used.
3 Definitions
3.1 Force: Fracture load applied to the test specimen.
3.2 Deformation: Amount specimen deflects under load.
3.3 Force-deformation curve: A graph (see Fig. 1) with values of
deformation on the abscissa and values of force on the ordinate.
3.4 Ultimate shear strength: Maximum shear stress that can be
sustained by a material before rupture caused by a shear load.
3.5 Ultimate bending strength: Maximum bending stress developed in
a material before rupture caused by a flexural load.
3.6 Fracture energy: The energy required to deform a material to the
point of fracture. It is the area under the force-deformation curve up to
the point of fracture (see Fig. 1).
3.7 Stress-strain diagram: Graph of stress as a function of strain which
is constructed from data taken from the force-deformation curve.
3.8 Modulus of elasticity: The slope of the straight line portion of a
stress-strain diagram.
Figure 1 Force deformative curve
3.9 Apparent modulus of elasticity: When a material is inelastic
(bone), loading and unloading the material several times within the linear
limit may produce loading and unloading curves that may give different
values for the modulus of elasticity. The apparent modulus of elasticity is
the value of the modulus calculated from the first loading cycle (see
ASAE Standard S368, Compression Test of Food Materials of Convex
Shape).
4 Apparatus
4.1 Testing machine. Any testing machine capable of applying a
constant rate of crosshead movement with the following:
4.1.1 A driving device for the crosshead with a reproducible speed with
and accuracy of 1.0%.
4.1.2 A force-deformation indicating mechanism (x y plotter, chart
recorder, data acquisition unit, etc.). The mechanism must be calibrated
before testing. The testing machine should be periodically verified
following ASTM Standard E-4, Practices for Load Verification of Testing
Machines.
4.2 Shear testing fixture. A double shear block arrangement as shown
in Fig. 2 should be used. The clearance between the 2 sample supports
and the shear loading bar shall not exceed 0.05 mm. The radius of
curvature of the sample mounting blocks and the loading bar shall
depend on the size of the specimen.
4.3 Three-point bending fixture. The three-point bending test fixture as
shown in Fig. 3 with adjustable fulcra should be used. The 3 loading
supports must be rounded to avoid damage to the specimen. A radius of
4.0 mm is recommended for the 3 supports. The 2 fulcrum points should
be adjustable in order to obtain a support length to test specimen
diameter ratio, greater than 10.

ANSI/ASAE S459 MAR1992 (R2012) Copyright American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 1
 Figure 2 Double shear block test fixture
5 Test specimen and testing condition
5.1 Intact bone Specimens will be tested in their original size and shape
and free of associated tissue. They can be tested under 3 different
conditions: (1) fresh, (2) frozen and thawed, or (3) cooked and dried
(Wilson et al., 1992). Tests on fresh bone specimens must be conducted
before the time of exposure to air exceeds 10 min in order to avoid
changes caused by drying of the specimen. Frozen specimens must be
thawed in plastic bags, brought to room temperature (22 2 C), and
tested before drying occurs. Cooked specimens should be air dried for a
minimum of 24 h at room temperature before testing.
6 Number of test specimens
6.1 Because of the large variance inherent in bone specimens, each
experiment must be statistically designed to have enough test specimens
for an acceptable level of confidence in the results. A minimum of 25
specimens should be used.
7 Testing procedures
7.1 Measure the exterior dimensions of the bone cross section using dial
or digital calipers with an accuracy of 0.025 mm. Sketch the bone cross
section area in order to determine the number of measurements required
(see Fig. 4).
7.2 Record details about the animal from which the bones were taken
Figure 3 Three-point bending test fixture
ANSI/ASAE S459 MAR1992 (R2012) Copyright American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Figure 4 Typical cross sections of bones
including: age, sex, diet, previous history, etc., before testing. Record the
status of the bone: cooked, fresh, or frozen.
7.3 Select the type of test to be performed, shear or bending (Combs
et al., 1991).
7.4 If using the bending test, adjust the fulcra points in order to obtain a
support length to bone diameter ratio greater than 10.
7.5 Place the specimen in the test apparatus with the flattest side down.
Be consistent in how the specimens are placed in the fixture.
7.6 Set the crosshead speed required for the test. For the shear test, a
speed of 5 mm/min should be used. For the bending test, a speed of 10
mm/min should be used. If any other speed is used and a comparison is
to be made with other reported results, the effect of speed must be
considered. For example, Rowland, et al., 1968 have shown that for
strength tests on fresh poultry bone, lowering the loading rate will also
lower the ultimate bending force.
7.7 Adjust the chart speed, if used and select a load scale factor in order
to obtain a force-deformation curve that will cover approximately a 15
20 cm portion of the chart.
7.8 Start the machine, and record the force-deformation curve through
the point of rupture.
7.9 After testing, clean the marrow from the bone at the fracture location
and measure the wall thickness (accuracy of 0.025 mm) at a minimum of
3 places in order to obtain an average wall thickness.
8 Calculations
8.1 Force, F, and deformation, , to rupture. If a recording chart is
used, the value of the force is read directly from the chart, but the
deflection is determined by multiplying the chart reading by the
crosshead speed and dividing by the chart speed.
8.2 The ultimate shear strength (stress) is determined by:
F
2A
where
shear stress, Pa
2
 F applied fracture force, N d inside minor diameter, m
A initial cross-sectional area, m2 8.4 Apparent modulus of elasticity is calculated for three-point bending
8.3 The ultimate bending strength (stress) is calculated by: by:

FLC FL 3
E
4I 48I
where where
ultimate bending stress, Pa E apparent modulus of elasticity, Pa
C distance from neutral axis to outer fiber, m deformation, m
I moment of inertia, m4
L distance between supports, m
9 Report
F applied force, N
9.1 The final report shall include the following:
8.3.1 Most bone cross sections can be modeled as either a hollow
ellipse or a quadrant of an ellipse (see Fig. 4). The moment of inertia for 9.1.1 Date the test was performed.
a hollow ellipse is: 9.1.2 Complete identification of the bone tested including type, size,
shape, and previous history.
I 0.049 B D 3 b d 3 9.1.3 Complete identification of the test used with dimensions of the test
For a hollow ellipse: fixture, crosshead speed, load scale, and chart speed if used.
9.1.4 Method of placing specimen on test fixture.
D
C 9.1.5 Condition of the specimen when tested (fresh, frozen and thawed,
2 or cooked and dried).
For a quadrant of an ellipse: 9.1.6 Number of specimens used.
I 0.0549 B D 3 b d 3 9.1.7 Type of testing machine.
9.1.8 Calculated results and the type of statistical analysis used to
C 0.57559D
analyze the data.
where
B outside major diameter, m Cited Standards: Normative References
b inside major diameter, m ASTM E4, Load Verification of Testing Machines
D outside minor diameter, m ASAE S368, Compression Test of Food Materials of Convex Shape

Annex A
(informative)
References
Combs, N. R., E. T. Kornegay, M. D. Lindeman, D. R. Notter, J. H.
Wilson, and J. P. Mason. 1991. Calcium and phosphorus requirement of
swine from weaning to market weight. Development of response curves
for bone data criteria and comparison of bending and shear bone testing,
Journal of Animal Science 69:682693.
Rowland, L. O., Jr., R. H. Harms, H. R. Wilson, E. M. Ahmad, R. W.
Waldroup, and J. L. Fry. 1988. Influence of various dietary factors on
bone fragility of caged layers. Poultry Science, 47:507511.
Wilson, J. H. and J. P. Mason. 1992. Bone breaking strength as influ-
enced by preconditioning, Transactions of ASAE 35(1):263265.

ANSI/ASAE S459 MAR1992 (R2012) Copyright American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 3