Plant tissues are able to generate complex movements via shape modifications. These effects are tightly related to distinctive multi-scale composite architectures of the plant material, and can therefore largely be interpreted by composite mechanics principles. Here, we propose a generic framework for the analysis and prediction of the shape morphing of intricate biological composite materials, arising from changes in humidity. We have examined in depth the hierarchical structures of three types of seed pods for which we propose a theoretical scheme that is able to accurately simulate the relevant shape deformations. The validity and generality of this approach are confirmed by means of laboratory scale synthetic models with similar architectures leading to equivalent morphing patterns. Such synthetic configurations could pave the way to future morphing architectures of advanced materials and structures.
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21 July 2014
Research Article|
July 25 2014
Structural origins of morphing in plant tissues
Benny Bar-On;
Benny Bar-On
a)
1Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Ben-Gurion University
, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
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Xiaomeng Sui;
Xiaomeng Sui
a)
2Department of Materials and Interfaces,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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Konstantin Livanov;
Konstantin Livanov
a)
2Department of Materials and Interfaces,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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Ben Achrai;
Ben Achrai
a)
2Department of Materials and Interfaces,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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Estelle Kalfon-Cohen;
Estelle Kalfon-Cohen
a)
3School of Engineering and Applied Sciences,
Harvard University
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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Erica Wiesel;
Erica Wiesel
a)
2Department of Materials and Interfaces,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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H. Daniel Wagner
H. Daniel Wagner
2Department of Materials and Interfaces,
Weizmann Institute of Science
, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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a)
Author contributions: H.D.W. and B.B. designed the research and prepared the manuscript. K.L., B.B., X.S., and B.A. conducted the SEM observations. B.A. conducted the μCT observations. B.B. produced the analytical modeling and calculations. X.S., K.L., B.B., E.W., and E.K.-C. designed and prepared the synthetic samples.
b)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: Daniel.Wagner@weizmann.ac.il. Phone: +972 8 934 2594.
Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 033703 (2014)
Article history
Received:
March 17 2014
Accepted:
July 13 2014
Citation
Benny Bar-On, Xiaomeng Sui, Konstantin Livanov, Ben Achrai, Estelle Kalfon-Cohen, Erica Wiesel, H. Daniel Wagner; Structural origins of morphing in plant tissues. Appl. Phys. Lett. 21 July 2014; 105 (3): 033703. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4891191
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