Toanalyzetheeffectsofviscoelasticpropertiesofmiddleearsofttissuesonthedynamiccharacteristicsof human ear system,a finite element (FE )model of the human ear consisting of the external ear canal,middle ear and cochlea was developed.The geometric configuration of the external ear canal and middle ear was constructed via micro-CT scanning and reverse engineering technology,and the cochlea was simplified as an uncoiled,two-chambered and fluid-filled duct.The viscoelastic material effect was introduced into the behaviors of middle ear soft tissues to represent the energy dissipation in dynamic analysis.A multiphysics coupled analysis was conducted on the model in which the coupling effects among the air in the ear canal,the fluid in the cochlea and the middle ear structures were concerned.Then a sound pressure of 90 dB SPL was applied on the ear canal to simulate the sound stimulus on normal human ear.Middle ear structural responses such as movements of the tympanic membrane and stapes footplate in response to the sound stimulus were derived by this model.Meanwhile,based on calculating the pressure of the fluid in the cochlea,the sound pressure gain across the middle ear,the cochlear input impedance and the reverse pressure transfer function of cochlea were also obtained.The results show that taking into account the viscoelastic properties of middle ear soft tissues can improve the dynamic responses of the human ear system as compared with the results of a linear elastic model,especially at the high-frequency range.The better agreements between the model results and the experimental data in the literature illustrate the necessity of considering viscoelasticity for dynamic modeling of human ear.%为分析中耳软组织粘弹性材料特性对人耳系统动力学特性影响,建立包括外耳道、中耳及耳蜗的整耳有限元模型。外耳道及中耳模型用微CT扫描与逆向成型技术建立,耳蜗采用双腔导管形式简化模型。基于该模型,中耳部分软组织材料属性采用线性粘弹性,以表征动态分析中能量损耗。在外耳道施加90 dB SPL声压模拟声激励,并在计算中考虑外耳道气体、中耳固体及耳蜗流体多场耦合作用。中耳结构响应包括鼓膜脐部与镫骨底板位移及镫骨底板速度传递函数,耳蜗流体压力响应用于计算中耳压力增益、耳蜗输入声阻抗及压力逆向传递函数。结果表明,考虑粘弹性后,人耳系统动态响应参数较线弹性有一定程度改善,尤其在高频段提升较明显,与实验测量数据匹配效果更好。
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