Berlin 2005 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 30: Biomaterials

AKB 30.6: Talk

Friday, March 4, 2005, 18:45–19:00, TU H2013

Plant Cell Walls for Hygrosensitive Switches — •Helfried Mollay¹, Ingo Burgert¹, Peter Fratzl¹ und Josef Eberhardsteiner² — ¹Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Biomaterials, 14476 Potsdam, Germany — ²Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Mechanics of Materials and Structures, A-1040 Vienna, Austria

Wood is an anisotropic and hygroscopic biomaterial which can absorb water and swells or shrinks due to changes of humidity. On the one hand, the resulting deformations can lead to severe complications with respect to the utilisation of wood. On the other hand, from a biomaterials point of view, the coherence between water absorption and structural modification is a matter of particular interest. The objective of our study was to make use of the hygroscopic behaviour of wood at the microscale by constructing wood-based switches. Thin wood tissue sheets of different ability to swell and shrink were combined as such as a bimetal. Thus, the wooden bi-layer bent during humidity changes and could be used in terms of a hygrosensitive switch.