How can trees stand up during years using extremely slender beams : the smart and regulated processes of adaptive wood formation.

Meriem Fournier , Bruno Moulia , Adelin Barbacci , Thiéry Constant , Catherine Coutand

Tree stems are incredibly slender structures that are faced with great mechanical constraints. Their mechanical performance is widely based on a smart regulation of wood formation during growth. We will show how trees perceive their mechanical environment and respond by auto-stressing processes that allow movements and increase safety. We will discuss the choice of relevant mechanical variables (forces, bending moments, strains, stresses …) to build phenomenological laws of perception-response.

Domaines: Mécanique [physics]

Meriem Fournier, Bruno Moulia, Adelin Barbacci, Thiéry Constant, Catherine Coutand. How can trees stand up during years using extremely slender beams : the smart and regulated processes of adaptive wood formation.. CFM 2009 - 19ème Congrès Français de Mécanique, Aug 2009, Marseille, France. ⟨hal-03378305⟩