NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Cell wall elasticity: I. A critique of the bulk elastic modulus approach and an analysis using polymer elastic principlesThe traditional bulk elastic modulus approach to plant cell pressure-volume relations is inconsistent with its definition. The relationship between the bulk modulus and Young's modulus that forms the basis of their usual application to cell pressure-volume properties is demonstrated to be physically meaningless. The bulk modulus describes stress/strain relations of solid, homogeneous bodies undergoing small deformations, whereas the plant cell is best described as a thin-shelled, fluid-filled structure with a polymer base. Because cell walls possess a polymer structure, an alternative method of mechanical analysis is presented using polymer elasticity principles. This initial study presents the groundwork of polymer mechanics as would be applied to cell walls and discusses how the matrix and microfibrillar network induce nonlinear stress/strain relationships in the cell wall in response to turgor pressure. In subsequent studies, these concepts will be expanded to include anisotropic expansion as regulated by the microfibrillar network.
Document ID
20040120611
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Wu, H. I.
(College Station 77843 United States)
Spence, R. D.
Sharpe, P. J.
Goeschl, J. D.
Date Acquired
August 22, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: Plant, cell & environment
Volume: 8
Issue: 8
ISSN: 0140-7791
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available