Determination of the effective water conductivity of red pine sapwood

Tremblay, Carl; Cloutier, Alain; Fortin, Yves

doi:10.1007/s002260000036

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…2f) 10 . Hygroscopic materials such as cellulose are known to show a water permeability varying with their own moisture content 11 . This singular physical property arises from the presence of hydroxyl groups on which water molecules adsorb, forming a third phase of bound water, alongside the vapor and liquid phases 12 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To evaluate the performance of the water capture mechanism evolved by Tillandsia, we compare it to the roots of desert succulents that are also known for their asymmetric transport of water 19 . The typical radial conductance of roots for the absorption of liquid water is [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Á 10 3 mg m À2 min À1 MPa À1 20,21 , which is at least 30 times higher than the whole-leaf conductance of 200 mg m À2 min À1 MPa À1 measured in Tillandsia. However, while roots absorb over their entire surface, the trichomes' stalks represent only 2.6 of the total leaf surface area, the remaining 97.4 of the leaf surface being covered with an impermeable wax layer ( Supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Design of a unidirectional water valve in Tillandsia

2020

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The bromeliad Tillandsia landbeckii thrives in the Atacama desert of Chile using the fog captured by specialized leaf trichomes to satisfy its water needs. However, it is still unclear how the trichome of T. landbeckii and other Tillandsia species is able to absorb fine water droplets during intermittent fog events while also preventing evaporation when the plant is exposed to the desert's hyperarid conditions. Here, we explain how a 5800-fold asymmetry in water conductance arises from a clever juxtaposition of a thick hygroscopic wall and a semipermeable membrane. While absorption is achieved by osmosis of liquid water, evaporation under dry external conditions shifts the liquid-gas interface forcing water to diffuse through the thick trichome wall in the vapor phase. We confirm this mechanism by fabricating artificial composite membranes mimicking the trichome structure. The reliance on intrinsic material properties instead of moving parts makes the trichome a promising basis for the development of microfluidics valves.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a unidirectional water valve in Tillandsia

2020

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“…Secondly, material properties change during the drying process, as they are dependent on multiple parameters such as temperature, moisture content, structure (deformation, porosity) and the interaction of product components with water [48,183,206]. This multivariate dependency at different stages of the drying process again implies an additional characterisation effort.…”

Section: Materials Properties and Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced computational modelling for drying processes – A review

2014

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“…The variation of the trichome resistance with the water content of the shield is a key ingredient allowing the trichome to function as a valve. This response has several potential explanations: (i) the competition between the different transport regimes, respectively liquid phase transport, capillary transport, and vapor diffusion [17], (ii) the presence of a bound phase of slowly diffusing water molecules alternating between diffusion and adsorption in a "stop-and-go" motion [18,19], and (iii) the hygroscopic structure of the cellulose that swells with its water content, thus offering smaller and less interconnected pores for the transport of vapor as compared with the transport of liquid water [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multi-scale model for fluid transport through a bio-inspired passive valve

Gravelle

Dumais

2020

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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Tillandsia landbeckii is a rootless plant thriving in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert of Chile. These plants use unique cellulose-based microscopic structures called trichomes to collect fresh water from coastal fog. The trichomes rely on a passive mechanism to maintain an asymmetrical transport of water: they allow for the fast absorption of liquid water deposited by sporadic fog events while preventing evaporation during extended drought periods. Inspired by the trichome’s design, we study fluid transport through a micrometric valve. Combining Grand Canonical Monte Carlo with Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics simulations, we first analyze the adsorption and transport of a fluid through a single nanopore at different chemical potentials. We then scale up the atomic results using a lattice approach, and simulate the transport at the micrometric scale. Results obtained for a model Lennard-Jones fluid and TIP4P/2005 water were compared, allowing us to identify the key physical parameters for achieving a passive hydraulic valve. Our results show that the difference in transport properties of water vapor and liquid water within the cellulose layer is the basis for the ability of the Tillandsia trichome to function as a water valve. Finally, we predict a critical pore dimension above which the cellulose layer can form an efficient valve.

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Determination of the effective water conductivity of red pine sapwood

Cited by 15 publications

References 16 publications

Design of a unidirectional water valve in Tillandsia

Design of a unidirectional water valve in Tillandsia

Advanced computational modelling for drying processes – A review

A multi-scale model for fluid transport through a bio-inspired passive valve

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