Living tissues can remarkably adapt to their mechanical and biochemical environments through growth and remodelling mechanisms. Over the years, extensive research has been dedicated to understanding and modelling the complexities of growth. However, the majority of growth laws are based on phenomenological, , proposed evolution equations. This work aims to describe a general bulk growth model that developed in the framework of generalised continuum mechanics. This new model of growth is based on a continuum description of the growth process and is an extension of the work of DiCarlo and Quiligotti of the early 2000s. This model builds on the virtual power principle, and the constitutive theory is thermodynamically consistent. The proposed framework allows the inclusion of different constitutive theories linking the elastic strain and stresses, together with accommodating different non-mechanical mechanisms. Moreover, the framework supports anisotropy of both the material and growth, allowing the exploration of complex growth processes further. The descriptive capabilities of the model are demonstrated through numerical benchmarks and simulations describing real-life scenarios, such as the growth of the spine and an artery. The simulation results indicate that the developed thermodynamic consistent growth model is versatile and holds the potential to capture the complexities of living tissue growth, offering valuable insights into biological phenomena and pathologies.

中文翻译：

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机械和非机械刺激驱动的生长建模和模拟


活组织可以通过生长和重塑机制显着适应其机械和生化环境。多年来，广泛的研究致力于理解和模拟增长的复杂性。然而，大多数增长定律都是基于现象学提出的演化方程。这项工作旨在描述在广义连续介质力学框架下开发的一般体生长模型。这种新的增长模型基于对增长过程的连续描述，是 2000 年代初 DiCarlo 和 Quiligotti 工作的延伸。该模型建立在虚功率原理的基础上，本构理论在热力学上是一致的。所提出的框架允许包含连接弹性应变和应力的不同本构理论，并适应不同的非机械机制。此外，该框架支持材料和生长的各向异性，允许进一步探索复杂的生长过程。该模型的描述能力通过描述现实生活场景（例如脊柱和动脉的生长）的数值基准和模拟来证明。模拟结果表明，所开发的热力学一致生长模型具有多功能性，并且具有捕捉活体组织生长的复杂性的潜力，为生物现象和病理学提供有价值的见解。