Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2026
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
First Advisor
Ashfaq Adnan
Second Advisor
Alan P Bowling
Third Advisor
Hyejin Moon
Fourth Advisor
Md Rassel Raihan
Fifth Advisor
Muhammad N Huda
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and similar acute physical insults induce malfunction in neuronal communication at the cellular level through coupled alterations in tissue mechanics, cellular microstructure, and electrophysiology. This dissertation develops a multiscale framework to examine how neuronal morphology governs structural connectivity, local field responses, and subsequent electrical communication under rate-dependent mechanical loading and pulsed electromagnetic exposure. The computational growth model encompasses cell bodies, neurites, and mature synaptic contacts and investigates how cellular growth parameters alter developmental trajectories, process-level responses, and the final topology of neuronal networks. This distinction establishes a robust structural baseline for subsequent injury simulations. The obtained geometry is subjected to two loading pathways afterwards. In the rate-dependent mechanical loading pathway, finite element (FE) analyses resolve local deformation and reconstruct neurite strain and cell-body distortion from nodal displacement to map them into the electrophysiological formulation. Strain-dependent geometry and subsequent membrane-property changes are coupled with action potential (AP) signal propagation and synaptic recruitment, enabling communication deficits to be associated with localized injury rather than bulk deformation alone. In the pulsed high-power microwave (pHPM) exposure pathway, local electromagnetic fields are translated to volumetric absorption and specific absorption rate (SAR), transferred to transient thermal FE analyses, and coupled to temperature-sensitive cell-membrane kinetics and synaptic efficacy. These mechanisms produce non-uniform alterations in neuronal firing, signal amplitude, recruitment, and transmission. The major contribution is a reusable structure–field–function framework in which neuronal geometry connects development, field quantities, and network electrophysiology. It enables mechanistic comparison of distinct exposure modalities, identifying how similar macroscopic impact conditions can yield different communication outcomes due to cellular heterogeneity and local network topology.
Keywords
Traumatic Brain Injury, Cellular Biomechanics, Continuum Modeling, Neuron Aggregates, Neurite Growth, Action Potential, Neuron Electrophysiology, High-rate Impact, Damage Mechanics, High-power Microwave Exposure
Disciplines
Applied Mechanics | Biomechanical Engineering | Computational Neuroscience
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Rifat, Md Navid Imtiaz, "Multiscale Injury Biomechanics and Neuronal Communication in Brain" (2026). Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations. 7.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/mechaerospace_dissertations2/7
Included in
Applied Mechanics Commons, Biomechanical Engineering Commons, Computational Neuroscience Commons