Abstract
Since most plant movements take place through an interplay of elastic deformation and strengthening tissues, they are thus ideal concept generators for biomimetic hingeless actuators. In the framework of a biomimetic biology push process, we present the transfer of the functional movement principles of hollow tubular geometries that are surrounded by a net-like structure. Our plant models are the recent genera Ochroma (balsa) and Carica (papaya) as well as the fossil seed fern Lyginopteris oldhamia, which hold a net of macroscopic fiber structures enveloping the whole trunk. Asymmetries in these fiber nets, which are specifically caused by asymmetric growth of the secondary wood, enable the up-righting of inclined Ochroma and Carica stems. In a tubular net-like structure, the fiber angles play a crucial role in stress–strain relationships. When braided tubes are subjected to internal pressure, they become shorter and thicker if the fiber angle is greater than 54.7°. However, if the fiber angle is less than 54.7°, they become longer and thinner. In this article, we use straightforward functional demonstrators to show how insights into functional principles from living nature can be transferred into plant-inspired actuators with linear or asymmetric deformation.
Highlights
Most plants lack motility and are bound to their location
We often do not notice plant movements, either because the movements are too fast for the human eye, such as the trapping motion of the aquatic carnivorous bladderworts Utricularia spp. [3,4], or because plant motion takes place over a long period of time, such as the curving of branches caused by the formation of reaction wood in trees [5,6]
In C. papaya, O. pyramidale, and L. oldhamia, the angle α between the fibrous cortex structures and the longitudinal axis is significantly smaller than 54.7◦ so that a “pressurization,” i.e., stresses generated by the increase in volume of secondary tissues, leads to the shortening of the structure
Summary
Many plants are capable of complex movements, such as the snapping action in both the carnivorous Venus flytrap and the water trap plant [1,2]. We often do not notice plant movements, either because the movements are too fast for the human eye, such as the trapping motion of the aquatic carnivorous bladderworts Utricularia spp. [3,4], or because plant motion takes place over a long period of time, such as the curving of branches caused by the formation of reaction wood in trees [5,6]. In contrast to those of animals, take place without muscles and conventional (localized) hinges but through an interplay of elastic deformation and strengthening tissues, they are ideal concept generators for biomimetic hingeless actuators [7]
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