Figure 2

The confined compression stress response of two representative osteochondral samples as a function of time. Typical stress relaxation in response to sequential displacement-driven loading in the ramped configuration is observed. With higher strains, the constant strain phases were considerably extended to ensure proper tissue relaxation throughout the entire measurement period. Crosses indicate the convergence of the stress response at a relaxation rate of ≤0.03 N/min defined as the equilibrium state. The inset visualizes the applied loading protocol (i.e. strain [%] vs. time [min]).