A mechanics model for the compression of plant and vegetative tissues

The mechanics analysis of plant or vegetable tissue under a compressive stress has been developed based on large deformation elasticity theory. The tissue was treated as a lattice of regular perfect three-dimensional hexagonal cells. The cell walls were assumed to be impermeable under the time-scale of the loading. The cell walls of plants and vegetables are polymeric composite materials, consisting of a relatively amorphous matrix and a highly structured network of microfibrils embedded in the cell wall matrix. The micromechanical features of the individual cells have been related to the macroscopic properties of the whole tissue. The effects of microfibrillar stiffening factors k(1) and k(2), the cell wall matrix property a and the initial cell expansion ratio vi on the compressive behaviour of a plant or vegetable tissue have been investigated. The predicted results have also been related to some experimental evidence. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.