The role of plant stems in providing biomimetic solutions for innovative textiles in composites

Abstract: The significance of inspiration from nature for technical textiles and fibrous composite materials is demonstrated by examples of technical solutions that either parallel biology or are inspired by biological models. Two different types of biomimetic approach are briefly presented and discussed for the ‘technical plant stem’, a biomimetic product inspired by a variety of structural and functional properties found in different plants. The most important botanical role models are the stems of the giant reed (Arundo donax, Poaceae) and of the Dutch rush (Equisetum hyemale, Equisetaceae). After analysis of the structural and mechanical properties of these plants, the physical principles were deduced and abstracted and finally transferred to technical applications. Modern computer-controlled methods for producing technical textiles and for structuring the embedding matrix of compound materials render unique possibilities for transferring the complex structures found in plants into technical applications. This process is detailed for the ‘technical plant stem,’ a biomimetic, lightweight, fibrous composite material based on technical textiles with optimized mechanical properties and a gradient structure.

[1]  Olga Speck,et al.  BIOMECHANICS AND FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF HOLLOW STEMMED SPHENOPSIDS : III. EQUISETUM HYEMALE , 1998 .

[2]  Olga Speck,et al.  Damped oscillations of the giant reed Arundo donax (Poaceae). , 2004, American journal of botany.

[3]  Olga Speck,et al.  Field measurements of wind speed and reconfiguration in Arundo donax (Poaceae) with estimates of drag forces. , 2003, American journal of botany.

[4]  Karl J. Niklas,et al.  Responses of Hollow, Septate Stems to Vibrations: Biomechanical Evidence that Nodes Can Act Mechanically as Spring-like Joints , 1997 .

[5]  Ingo Burgert,et al.  Properties of chemically and mechanically isolated fibres of spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). Part 1: Structural and chemical characterisation , 2005 .

[6]  A. Reiterer,et al.  Experimental evidence for a mechanical function of the cellulose microfibril angle in wood cell walls , 1999 .

[7]  Jozef Keckes,et al.  Structure–function relationships of four compression wood types: micromechanical properties at the tissue and fibre level , 2004, Trees.

[8]  J. C. F. Walker,et al.  Stiffness of wood in fast-grown plantation softwoods: the influence of microfibril angle. , 1994 .

[9]  C. Mattheck,et al.  Shear effects on failure of hollow trees , 2005, Trees.

[10]  Hans Peter Monner,et al.  Smart materials for active noise and vibration reduction , 2005 .

[11]  C. Mattheck,et al.  Engineering Components grow like trees , 1990 .

[12]  Olga Speck,et al.  Mechanical Properties of the Rhizome of Arundo donax L. , 2003 .

[13]  Markus Milwich,et al.  Bionic developments based on textile materials for technical applications , 2008 .

[14]  George Jeronimidis,et al.  Composites with high work of fracture , 1980, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[15]  Karl J. Niklas,et al.  NODAL SEPTA AND THE RIGIDITY OF AERIAL SHOOTS OF EQUISETUM HYEMALE , 1989 .

[16]  A. Santos‐Guerra,et al.  Reproductive biology of the dioecious Canary Islands endemic Withania aristata (Solanaceae). , 2006, American journal of botany.

[17]  T Speck,et al.  Biomechanics and functional anatomy of hollow-stemmed sphenopsids. I. Equisetum giganteum (Equisetaceae). , 1998, American journal of botany.

[18]  Thomas Speck,et al.  Biomimetics and technical textiles: solving engineering problems with the help of nature's wisdom. , 2006, American journal of botany.

[19]  G Jeronimidis,et al.  Wood, one of nature's challenging composites. , 1980, Symposia of the Society for Experimental Biology.

[20]  Franka Brüchert,et al.  Biomechanics of the giant reed Arundo donax , 1997 .

[21]  C. Mattheck.  Trees: The Mechanical Design , 1991 .

[22]  Karl J. Niklas,et al.  Plant Biomechanics: An Engineering Approach to Plant Form and Function , 1993 .

[23]  T. Speck,et al.  Local buckling and other modes of failure in hollow plant stems , 1994 .

[24]  A. Emanns,et al.  The mechanical role of the endodermis in Equisetum plant stems. , 2004, American journal of botany.

[25]  H. Berg,et al.  Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People , 1998 .

[26]  Claus Mattheck,et al.  Design in Nature: Learning from Trees , 1998 .