About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Natural Fibers and Biocomposites
|
| Presentation Title |
The Relationship Between the Structural Evolution and Mechanical Response of Sunflower Pollen |
| Author(s) |
Kyle Stark, Eduard Arzt, Marc A Meyers |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Kyle Stark |
| Abstract Scope |
Sunflower pollen grains have been engineered into an increasingly diverse range of applications that span bioinspired materials and microcapsules for drug delivery. Despite these advancements, causal relationships linking evolutionary structures to mechanical characteristics are not yet understood and therefore limit future innovations. To address this gap we studied the mechanical behavior of pollen as an aggregate pellet under compressive loads and found that applied stress increases with the cubic power of relative grain density. Furthermore, we hypothesize that grain-to-grain contact area ultimately governs the resulting stress. From SEM data, we found that early compression leads to splaying of the spines (echinae) that radially protrude from the pollen surface, followed by local flattening of the spheroidal pollen grain body, and finally volumetric loss as the spheroid is compressed into a disk. These initial results begin to frame causal mechanical responses of Sunflower pollen and its potential for future applications. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Biomaterials, Mechanical Properties, Composites |