Interface considerations in the modelling of hierarchical biological structures

This chapter concerns property transitions between length scales in the hierarchical modeling of biological structures (biostructures). Biological materials are inherently complex, and mechanical properties such as toughness and fracture toughness are very often directly associated with the hierarchy of structure. At each length scale, there is an interface. Inclusion of the subtle effects each interface may have on both local and global properties into a model may give rise to more reliable model predictions. In this chapter, we elucidate the importance in considering these subtle interface variations.