For my BME 552 Tissue Mechanics class, I modeled the mechanical behavior of arterial walls by implementing the HGO constitutive model in COMSOL. Real arteries are reinforced with criss-crossing collagen fibers that give them an incredible, built-in safety feature: they are highly stretchy at normal pressures, but rapidly stiffen up to prevent bursting under high stress. I built a multi-layer 3D simulation to test how these structural fibers distribute load across the artery under varying blood pressures and stretches. Ultimately, the model’s simulated pressure curves perfectly matched real-world experimental data, showing exactly how biological tissues act as masterfully designed composite materials.