Tree Design: Some Biological Solutions to Mechanical Problems

Wilson, Brayton F.; Archer, Robert R.

doi:10.2307/1307825

Cited by 100 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The region directly above and below the branch had the highest standard deviation (5-6°), the lowest (0.3°) was found at the left side stimulates diameter growth was e.g. made by Wilson and Archer (1979) and wind-or sway induced morphological adaptation of wood tissue was described by Telewski (1989). Increased MFA and density as response to (wind induced) tissue damage was described by Koch et al (2000) and Trendelenburg (1940).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

The role of material properties for the mechanical adaptation at branch junctions

Jungnikl

Goebbels

Burgert

et al. 2008

Trees

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

The role of material properties for the mechanical adaptation at branch junctions

Jungnikl

Goebbels

Burgert

et al. 2008

Trees

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“…Although they did not recognize it as autotropism and did not emphasize this phenomenon in their subsequent synthetic reviews (e.g. Wilson and Archer, 1979), it is very likely that this three-phase dynamic, including an autotropic phase, is general in woody plants.…”

Section: Discussion Kinematical Analysis Of the Righting Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gravitropic Response of Poplar Trunks: Key Roles of Prestressed Wood Regulation and the Relative Kinetics of Cambial Growth versus Wood Maturation

2007

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In tree trunks, the motor of gravitropism involves radial growth and differentiation of reaction wood (Archer, 1986). The first aim of this study was to quantify the kinematics of gravitropic response in young poplar (Populus nigra x Populus deltoides, 'I4551') by measuring the kinematics of curvature fields along trunks. Three phases were identified, including latency, upward curving, and an anticipative autotropic decurving, which has been overlooked in research on trees. The biological and mechanical bases of these processes were investigated by assessing the biomechanical model of Fournier et al. (1994). Its application at two different time spans of integration made it possible to test hypotheses on maturation, separating the effects of radial growth and cross section size from those of wood prestressing. A significant correlation between trunk curvature and Fournier's model integrated over the growing season was found, but only explained 32% of the total variance. Moreover, over a week's time period, the model failed due to a clear out phasing of the kinetics of radial growth and curvature that the model does not take into account. This demonstrates a key role of the relative kinetics of radial growth and the maturation process during gravitropism. Moreover, the degree of maturation strains appears to differ in the tension woods produced during the upward curving and decurving phases. Cell wall maturation seems to be regulated to achieve control over the degree of prestressing of tension wood, providing effective control of trunk shape.

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“…Only for a crown localized a~ ~hR vRry top of an otherwise leafless tree the force of the wind can be modelled by a single force acting laterally at the tree top and causing a linear bending moment distribution downward along the stem. In that case, the requirement of constant surface stress along the stem would lead to the equation (1) which was found experimentally in some cases [2]. Of course, for other types of trees as Sitka spruce-like trees with crowns distributed nearly all over the stem length a different relation has to be expected to hold.…”

Section: Tree Stemsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Whilst Alexander [1] discussed only the thickness of the tree butt in [2] a similar relation was derived in order to predict the relation between the tree radius and the height where this radius has actually been measured. In [3] it was stated that all the applicable equations are expected to depend thc trcc crcwn.…”

Section: Tree Stemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering Components grow like trees

Mattheck

1990

Materialwissenschaft Werkst

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SummaryBiological structures consist of mechanical load carriers, which are highly optimized in terms of mechanical strength and minimum weight. It is demonstrated on some selected examples that a constant Mises-stress at the surface of the biological component can be accepted as a significant biological design rule. However, a general proof of this hypothesis seems to be impossible. It is discussed how ready-grown biological designs can be transferred to engineering applications. A new method of structural shape optimization was developed because biological 'components' do not always exist exactly in a shape ready to be copied for engineering use. The method is based on

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Tree Design: Some Biological Solutions to Mechanical Problems

Cited by 100 publications

References 10 publications

The role of material properties for the mechanical adaptation at branch junctions

The role of material properties for the mechanical adaptation at branch junctions

The Gravitropic Response of Poplar Trunks: Key Roles of Prestressed Wood Regulation and the Relative Kinetics of Cambial Growth versus Wood Maturation

Engineering Components grow like trees

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