Sensitivity analysis of fibrous thick-walled tubes with mechano-sensitive remodeling fibers in homeostasis

In this article, we apply the sensitivity analysis method to capture the influence of various parameters on the inflation pressure, axial force, and the deformation for an inflated and axially stretched cylinder. The material consists of an isotropic ground substance material reinforced with fibers that undergo a continuous and mechano-sensitive remodeling process. The input parameters of the mechanical system are assumed to be distributed according to the uniform probability distribution function. In the sensitivity analysis, we apply the Sobol method to determine how the variations of input parameters affect the inflation as well as the axial force in the cylinder. Special attention is given to the fiber remodeling process associated with a homeostatic balance between the constant fiber creation process and the strain-stabilized fiber dissolution. The results may help to understand the importance of the effect of material parameter changes, for example, due to remodeling processes in the context of diseases or recovering processes, on the overall tissue behavior.