Analysis of stress distribution and leaf blade bending during

Abstract

Mechanical factors play an important role in plant tissues growth and development. Plant growth is tightly connected with cell divisions, new cell walls appearing and cell volumes increasing caused by turgor pressure and cell walls loosening and yielding. In biomechanics the plant tissue is considered as integral porous deformable skeleton of cell walls filled with viscous incompressible liquid (intracellular liquid and contents of plant vessels). Xylem sap moves through the xylem vessels, delivers mineral and regulatory components into cells and provides increasing of mass of the solid skeleton. The rate of cell growth is controlled by wall loosening caused by biochemical factors and wall yielding under the influence of the turgor pressure. The tissues consist of elements with different geometry and mechanical properties which are arranged in regular patterns.