Title:

Plant S.T.E.M.: Plant Mimic with Stiffness Tunability for Ecohydraulic Modeling of Spartina alterniflora

Seasonal variation in the biomechanical characteristics of coastal vegetation directly influences the ecohydraulics of coastal ecosystems. To more realistically simulate these flow-vegetation interactions in laboratory experiments, existing methods for creating adjustable stiffness materials were adapted to create a plant mimic of Spartina alternifora with tunable mechanical characteristics. This mimic was constructed from 3D printed beads with interlinking conical interfaces threaded onto nylon twine fixed to the shaft of a stepper motor. Actuating the stepper motor controlled the model’s stiffness. Two model versions were made: one with thermoplastic polyeruthane (TPU) and one with polylactic acid (PLA). Model stiffness at various tensions were quantified with a 2-point flexure text for both models. The PLA mimic simulated stiffnesses between 92 MPa and 184 MPa, whereas the TPU mimic simulated stiffnesses between 34 MPa and 52 MPa. Therefore, the PLA plant mimic was more effective at simulating the variable stiffness of S. alterniflora, which has an average stiffness of 576.5 MPa. With proper scaling, this adjustable plant mimic will allow more thorough study of the effects of variable plant stiffness on the ecohydraulics of coastal ecosystems.

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