Soft biological tissues include both native and artificial tissues. In the human body, tissues like the articular cartilage, arterial wall, and heart valve leaflets are examples of structures composed of an underlying network of collagen fibers, cells, proteins and molecules. Artificial tissues are less complex than native tissues and mainly consist of a fiber polymer network with the intent of replacing lost or damaged tissue. Understanding of the mechanical function of these materials is essential for many clinical treatments (e.g. arterial clamping, angioplasty), diseases (e.g. arteriosclerosis) and tissue engineering applications (e.g. engineered blood vessels or heart valves).

This thesis presents the derivation and application of a multiscale methodology to describe the macroscopic mechanical function of soft biological tissues incorporating directly their structural architecture. The model, which is based on volume averaging theory, accounts for structural parameters such as the network volume fraction and orientation, the realignment of the fibers in response to strain, the interactions among the fibers and the interactions between the fibers and the interstitial fluid in order to predict the overall tissue behavior. Therefore, instead of using a constitutive equation to relate strain to stress, the tissue microstructure is modeled within a representative volume element (RVE) and the macroscopic response at any point in the tissue is determined by solving a micromechanics problem in the RVE.

The model was applied successfully to acellular collagen gels, native blood vessels, and electrospun polyurethane scaffolds and provided accurate predictions for permeability calculations in isotropic and oriented fiber networks. The agreement of model predictions with experimentally determined mechanical properties provided insights into the mechanics of tissues and tissue constructs, while discrepancies revealed limitations of the model framework.