

In this work, we have developed a mechanobiological model of bone remodeling involving a mineralization of bone in a moving diffuse interface separating the marrow containing all specialized cells from newly formed bone. The phase field describes the degree of mineralization within the diffuse interface at the level of individual trabeculae; it varies continuously between the lower value (no mineral) and unity (fully mineralized phase corresponding to new bone). The field equations for the mechanical, chemical, and interfacial phenomena have been written, based on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The kinetic equations for the internal variables are obtained from a pseudo-potential of dissipation. The combination of the balance equations for the microforce associated to the phase field and the kinetic equations lead to the Ginzburg–Landau equation satisfied by the phase field with a source term accounting for the dissipative microforce. The bone remodeling phenomena have been further coupled to the cell activity responsible for bone production/resorption. Simulations illustrating the proposed framework show the major role of mechanical energy on bone mass production and cell activity.