Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves
Plant leaves, whose remarkable ability for morphogenesis results in a wide range of petal and leaf shapes in response to environmental cues, have inspired scientific studies as well as the development of engineering structures and devices. Although some typical shape changes in plants and the drivin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179436 |
| _version_ | 1811680747019304960 |
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| author | Guo, Kexin Liu, Mingchao Vella, Dominic Suresh, Subra Hsia, K. Jimmy |
| author2 | School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology |
| author_facet | School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Guo, Kexin Liu, Mingchao Vella, Dominic Suresh, Subra Hsia, K. Jimmy |
| author_sort | Guo, Kexin |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Plant leaves, whose remarkable ability for morphogenesis results in a wide range of petal and leaf shapes in response to environmental cues, have inspired scientific studies as well as the development of engineering structures and devices. Although some typical shape changes in plants and the driving force for such shape evolution have been extensively studied, there remain many poorly understood mechanisms, characteristics, and principles associated with the vast array of shape formation of plant leaves in nature. Here, we present a comprehensive study that combines experiment, theory, and numerical simulations of one such topic-the mechanics and mechanisms of corrugated leaf folding induced by differential shrinking in Rhapis excelsa. Through systematic measurements of the dehydration process in sectioned leaves, we identify a linear correlation between change in the leaf-folding angle and water loss. Building on experimental findings, we develop a generalized model that provides a scaling relationship for water loss in sectioned leaves. Furthermore, our study reveals that corrugated folding induced by dehydration in R. excelsa leaves is achieved by the deformation of a structural architecture-the "hinge" cells. Utilizing such connections among structure, morphology, environmental stimuli, and mechanics, we fabricate several biomimetic machines, including a humidity sensor and morphing devices capable of folding in response to dehydration. The mechanisms of corrugated folding in R. excelsa identified in this work provide a general understanding of the interactions between plant leaves and water. The actuation mechanisms identified in this study also provide insights into the rational design of soft machines. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:29:57Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/179436 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:29:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1794362024-08-02T15:31:38Z Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves Guo, Kexin Liu, Mingchao Vella, Dominic Suresh, Subra Hsia, K. Jimmy School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Engineering Plant morphology Leaf folding Plant leaves, whose remarkable ability for morphogenesis results in a wide range of petal and leaf shapes in response to environmental cues, have inspired scientific studies as well as the development of engineering structures and devices. Although some typical shape changes in plants and the driving force for such shape evolution have been extensively studied, there remain many poorly understood mechanisms, characteristics, and principles associated with the vast array of shape formation of plant leaves in nature. Here, we present a comprehensive study that combines experiment, theory, and numerical simulations of one such topic-the mechanics and mechanisms of corrugated leaf folding induced by differential shrinking in Rhapis excelsa. Through systematic measurements of the dehydration process in sectioned leaves, we identify a linear correlation between change in the leaf-folding angle and water loss. Building on experimental findings, we develop a generalized model that provides a scaling relationship for water loss in sectioned leaves. Furthermore, our study reveals that corrugated folding induced by dehydration in R. excelsa leaves is achieved by the deformation of a structural architecture-the "hinge" cells. Utilizing such connections among structure, morphology, environmental stimuli, and mechanics, we fabricate several biomimetic machines, including a humidity sensor and morphing devices capable of folding in response to dehydration. The mechanisms of corrugated folding in R. excelsa identified in this work provide a general understanding of the interactions between plant leaves and water. The actuation mechanisms identified in this study also provide insights into the rational design of soft machines. Ministry of Education (MOE) Nanyang Technological University Published version K.G. acknowledges the support of the Nanyang President’s Graduate Scholarship from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. M.L. acknowledges the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and start-up funding from the University of Birmingham, UK. K.J.H. acknowledges financial support from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (Grant M4082428), and the Ministry of Education, Singapore, under its Academic Research Fund Tier 3 (Grant MOE-MOET32022-0002). 2024-07-31T02:35:16Z 2024-07-31T02:35:16Z 2024 Journal Article Guo, K., Liu, M., Vella, D., Suresh, S. & Hsia, K. J. (2024). Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 121(17), e2320259121-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2320259121 0027-8424 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179436 10.1073/pnas.2320259121 38588439 2-s2.0-85190320258 17 121 e2320259121 en M4082428 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) © 2024 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Engineering Plant morphology Leaf folding Guo, Kexin Liu, Mingchao Vella, Dominic Suresh, Subra Hsia, K. Jimmy Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| title | Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| title_full | Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| title_fullStr | Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| title_short | Dehydration-induced corrugated folding in Rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| title_sort | dehydration induced corrugated folding in rhapis excelsa plant leaves |
| topic | Engineering Plant morphology Leaf folding |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179436 |
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