Biomechanics of Coupled Thermal Transport and Tissue Response: Generalized Bioheat Models, Multiphysics Interactions, and Validation

Thermal transport in biological tissues is closely linked to tissue mechanics across multiple scales, influencing deformation, damage, fluid transport, and functional performance in health and disease. These coupled processes are relevant to biomechanics, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, injury-related tissue response, and bioengineering applications in which transient heating, transport across material boundaries, and rate-dependent behavior shape tissue-level outcomes. Classical bioheat transfer and linear thermoelastic models remain useful, but they may be insufficient under short thermal pulses, steep gradients, heterogeneous microstructures, or coupled electromagnetic, fluid-mediated, and electrokinetic transport. Recent advances in generalized transport modeling, including fractional, memory-dependent, phase-lag, Moore–Gibson–Thompson, and related nonlocal formulations, offer opportunities to capture finite-speed effects, relaxation behavior, and history dependence. When integrated with experimentally grounded biomechanical analysis, these approaches can improve mechanistic understanding, model fidelity, and translational relevance.This Research Topic aims to bring together studies that develop, compare, and validate biomechanics-focused models of coupled thermal transport and tissue response in biological tissues and tissue-relevant systems. Particular emphasis will be placed on work linking temperature evolution and transport phenomena to measurable biomechanical responses, including viscoelasticity, poroelastic or poroviscoelastic behavior, residual strain, damage initiation, structural remodeling, and changes in load-bearing function. We welcome contributions on generalized bioheat and non-classical transport models, such as fractional, dual- or three-phase-lag, Moore–Gibson–Thompson, thermomass-inspired, and memory-kernel approaches, provided they are clearly parameterized, physically interpretable, physiologically motivated, and benchmarked against established models. The Topic is especially aligned with the Biomechanics section where studies address tissue-level mechanics, fluid–structure interactions, rate effects, transport across boundaries, injury-related mechanisms, or biomechanics-enabled technologies relevant to diagnosis, treatment planning, tissue engineering, or regenerative medicine. Priority will be given to submissions with direct or otherwise robust tissue-relevant validation, rigorous comparison with current methods, and sensitivity or uncertainty analysis supporting reproducible biomechanical interpretation.We welcome original research, methods, and systematic review articles on:• Generalized bioheat and transport models, including fractional, phase-lag, MGT, memory-kernel, and nonlocal formulations, with clear physical and physiological interpretation• Coupled thermo-mechanical constitutive modeling of tissues, including viscoelastic, poroelastic/poroviscoelastic, anisotropic, damaged, or remodeling materials• Multiphysics interactions relevant to biomechanics, such as fluid–structure interaction, electromagnetic or RF coupling, ultrasound-related heating, electrokinetic transport, and nano-enabled thermal modulation• Experimental and computational biomechanics studies with validation of key outputs, benchmarking against established methods, and sensitivity/uncertainty quantification.Out of scope are purely mathematical or algorithmic studies without clear biomechanical relevance, computational-only papers lacking robust validation, and finite element studies without experimental confirmation of the principal numerical readouts where such confirmation is essential to the study’s main claims. Topic editors: Dr. Asgar Ali, Wei Peng, Dr. Soumik Das Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77054/biomechanics-of-coupled-thermal-transport-and-tissue-response-generalized-bioheat-models-multiphysics-interactions-and-validation