Journal
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
Volume 6, Issue 39, Pages 951-957Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2009.0184
Keywords
pine cone; swelling; wicking; biomimetics
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Funding
- French Ministry of Defense
- DARPA
- NSF-Harvard MRSEC
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Materials Research [820484] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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We consider natural and artificial hygromorphs, objects that respond to environmental humidity by changing their shape. Using the pine cone as an example that opens when dried and closes when wet, we quantify the geometry, mechanics and dynamics of closure and opening at the cell, tissue and organ levels, building on our prior structural knowledge. A simple scaling theory allows us to quantify the hysteretic dynamics of opening and closing. We also show how simple bilayer hygromorphs of paper and polymer show similar behaviour that can be quantified via a theory which couples fluid transport in a porous medium and evaporative flux to mechanics and geometry. Our work unifies varied observations of natural hygromorphs and suggests interesting biomimetic analogues, which we illustrate using an artificial flower with a controllable blooming and closing response.
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