A computer simulation of the creep process of the cell wall using stress relaxation parameters

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Yamamoto, Ryoichi^a | Sakurai, Naoki^b

Affiliations: [a] Laboratory of Biology, Tezukayama College, Gakuen-minami, Nara 631, Japan | [b] Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Integrated Arts and Science, Hiroshima University, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730, Japan

Note: [] Accepted by: Editor H. Niimi

Abstract: The stress relaxation of the cell wall of pea plants was measured and viscoelastic parameters were obtained according to the stress- relaxation analysis developed by Yamamoto et al. (Plant & Cell Physiol. 1970). The creep process of the cell wall was simulated by a numerical integration using stress-relaxation parameters, because the direct conversion of the stress relaxation process to the creep is impractical. In the conversion, a personal computer was programmed for the Maxwell viscoelastic model with a compiler language. Cell wall creep was measured with a specially constituted apparatus and compared with that calculated by the simulation process. The results suggested that the creep can be reproduced by a computer simulation using the stress-relaxation parameters. Both creep and stress-relaxation properties of plant cell walls can be analyzed by using a single model.

Keywords: Cell wall, Computer simulation, Creep, Stress-relaxation

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1990-27511

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 759-768, 1990