Numerical Simulation of Bone Defect Repair Using a Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Scaffold

Polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds with triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures have become ideal scaffolds in the field of bone defect repair due to their good designability, connectivity, biocompatibility, and degradability. However, it is currently difficult to obtain the scaffold degradation rate and osteogenic efficacy from in vivo experiments, making it challenging to provide recommendations for scaffold design. In this study, an algorithm to construct a TPMS scaffold–interfacial layer–tissue three-phase composite model was developed using polylactic acid hydrolysis and bone remodeling as the governing equations to simulate scaffold degradation and tissue osteogenesis behavior under an external mechanical stimulus. This method is based on a numerical calculation framework that can more closely simulate the in vivo environment, characterizing the changes in the overall macroscopic mechanical properties of tissue under the influence of scaffold degradation and tissue osteogenesis. The results confirmed the accelerating effect of mechanical stimulation on scaffold degradation and its promoting effect on new bone formation. Under 10% compressive loading, the Schwarz P representative volume element (RVE) lost 33% of its apparent modulus within initial days, while the lidinoid RVE, despite showing a much higher initial modulus, dropped to only 20% of its initial value over the same period. In addition, the mechanical performance of the fused TPMS RVE was not simply linear, even though the surface equations are combined linearly. These results provide a new method for pre-designing scaffold structures based on numerical simulation results using the finite element simulation.