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Aug 2026 — PresentBiomedical

ePTFE Vascular Graft

Designed a testing protocol to explore the mechanical properties and failure criterion of ePTFE when used as a vascular graft.

MaterialsTestingBiomedical
ePTFE vascular graft held in the grips of an Instron tensile testing machine

Overview

Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) is used in vascular grafts because it is chemically inert and resists thrombosis. How the material behaves under load — and the point at which it fails — determines how a graft performs in the body.

This project set out to characterize those limits with a repeatable bench test rather than assumptions, turning a materials question into a documented protocol.

What I did

  • Designed a testing protocol to explore the material properties of ePTFE and its failure criterion.
  • Outlined the machine operating protocol for Instron tensile tests to evaluate the mechanical properties of ePTFE as a blood vessel graft.
  • Structured the protocol so results could be compared consistently across samples.

Gallery

ePTFE specimen mounted in the Instron tensile tester with testing parameters called out
Test setup
Diagram of an ePTFE vascular graft under tensile testing with a stress-strain curve
Test concept

Outcome

The result is a documented tensile-testing protocol that makes ePTFE graft behavior measurable and repeatable, giving future work a clear method for comparing material formulations and failure modes.