• Login
    View Item 
    •   SMARTech Home
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
    • Undergraduate Research Option Theses
    • View Item
    •   SMARTech Home
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
    • Undergraduate Research Option Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Density-dependent Stiffness in Petiole Biomechanics

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    wilson_christina_d_200805_ro.pdf (155.5Kb)
    Date
    2008-05-05
    Author
    Wilson, Christina
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Morphological features of plants vary with increasing size. This relationship between different physical characteristics and size is referred to as allometry. Recently allometric research focused on plants and in particular plant leaves due to their importance in nutrient flow and gas exchange. Allometric plant research aims to enhance our understanding of the ontogeny of plants and offers a tool for ecological modeling. Previous allometric models have glanced over the influence of biomechanics on leaf form and function. This research will test if density-dependent stiffness of petioles is variable or if it scales with leaf mass. In order to test the variance of stiffness in leaf petioles, Young s modulus (E) was measured by modeling the petioles as simply loaded beams. Young s modulus was shown to vary among different species, even those of the same genus. Density-dependent stiffness varied with leaf size for some herbaceous species but not for other woody tree species. Future research should investigate the biomechanical role of a possible redistribution of structural tissue and how this rearrangement would affects petiole stiffness and overall petiole function.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1853/21823
    Collections
    • School of Biology Undergraduate Research Option Theses [146]
    • Undergraduate Research Option Theses [862]

    Browse

    All of SMARTechCommunities & CollectionsDatesAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypesThis CollectionDatesAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypes

    My SMARTech

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage StatisticsView Google Analytics Statistics
    facebook instagram twitter youtube
    • My Account
    • Contact us
    • Directory
    • Campus Map
    • Support/Give
    • Library Accessibility
      • About SMARTech
      • SMARTech Terms of Use
    Georgia Tech Library266 4th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30332
    404.894.4500
    • Emergency Information
    • Legal and Privacy Information
    • Human Trafficking Notice
    • Accessibility
    • Accountability
    • Accreditation
    • Employment
    © 2020 Georgia Institute of Technology