Anomalous rate dependence of the preconditioned response of soft tissue during load controlled deformation

It has been observed in load controlled laboratory tests of myocardium and skin that the tissues can exhibit a decrease in nonlinear stiffness with an increase in loading rate: the faster a test is performed, the more compliant is the preconditioned material behavior. This response seems to conflict with what is generally expected of soft tissues based on stretch or strain controlled tests, in which an increased rate of deformation results in a stiffer material response. It is hypothesized that this anomalous behavior has not been observed previously due to the small number of cyclic load controlled mechanical characterization tests that are geared specifically towards viscoelastic tissue response. The goal of this paper is to examine the preconditioned response of soft tissue to load controlled deformation using nonlinear viscoelastic material models including quasi-linear viscoelasticity, and to determine under what conditions this anomalous behavior becomes apparent. Results from this study suggest that this behavior is a true phenomenon unique to load controlled deformations that results from the interplay of nonlinear effects and creep behavior. These results call for increased attention to experimental parameters when testing and modeling nonlinear viscoelastic material behavior.