Initial fixed charged density () introduced in the 3D computational model for healthy cartilage considered as heterogeneous material based on the work of Lai et al. [25] as well as following our GAG-histological results.

Property distribution similar to Young´s modulus represented in the zone of the sample shown in Fig 5. To clarify Table 3–Fig 5 correspondence, note that, for instance, first value in the first line and first column of table 3, 0.150, corresponds to the superficial layer and the point 13 of Fig 5. Values collected in table 3 are obtained in discrete material regions.