A High-performance computational framework for multiscale and multiphysics modelling of the intervertebral disc

This thesis develops a multiscale and multiphysics model of the intervertebral disc (IVD); it focuses on three main axes regarding: Mechanical response: It introduces a compatible porohyperelastic framework capable of capturing the mechanics underlying the physiological functioning of the IVD. Validation confirms the framework's accuracy in simulating the IVD's poromechanical response. Nutrient environment: It simulates cellular metabolic activity, integrating the effects of the deformable domain by including diffusive and advective terms. Cellular response: It models indirect mechanotransduction response using parallel networks, predicting the mRNA expression of different structural proteins and proteases depending on the level of inflammation of the IVD cells. This results in 3D maps of cellular activity throughout the Nucleus Pulposus (NP). The coupled models are integrated into the multiphysics Finite element-based code Alya, adapting and optimising the simulation for High-Performance Computing frameworks, reducing computational times, and allowing future studies of virtual populations.