title: Critical wind speed at which trees break.
abstract: Data from storms suggest that the critical wind speed at which trees break is constant (≃42m/s), regardless of tree characteristics. We question the physical origin of this observation both experimentally and theoretically. By combining Hooke's law, Griffith's criterion, and tree allometry, we show that the critical wind speed indeed hardly depends on the height, diameter, and elastic properties of trees.
authors.affiliation: LadHyX, CNRS UMR 7646, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Virot
authors.affiliation: LadHyX, CNRS UMR 7646, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France.|PMMH, CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ponomarenko
authors.affiliation: LadHyX, CNRS UMR 7646, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France.|PMMH, CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: É
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Dehandschoewercker
authors.affiliation: LadHyX, CNRS UMR 7646, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France.|PMMH, CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quéré
authors.affiliation: LadHyX, CNRS UMR 7646, École Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France.|PMMH, CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clanet
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D014197:Trees; D014919:Wind