title: On the shape transformation of cone scales.
abstract: The shape-morphing behaviours of some biological systems have drawn considerable interest over many years. This paper divulges that the opening and closing mechanism of pine cones is attributed to the self-bending of their scales, which undergo three states of humidity-driven deformation in terms of Föppl-von Kármán plate theory. Both numerical simulation and experimental measurement support the theoretical analysis, showing that the longitudinal principal curvature and the transverse principal curvature bifurcate at a critical humidity level according to the thickness and shape of scales. These findings help us understand the shape transformation of bilayer or multi-layer natural structures and gain insights into the design of transformable devices/materials with great potential in numerous applications.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Innovative Structures and Materials, School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne 3001, Australia. shiwei.zhou@rmit.edu.au.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Innovative Structures and Materials, School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne 3001, Australia. shiwei.zhou@rmit.edu.au.
authors.forename: Yi Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Centre for Innovative Structures and Materials, School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne 3001, Australia. shiwei.zhou@rmit.edu.au.
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Innovative Structures and Materials, School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne 3001, Australia. shiwei.zhou@rmit.edu.au.
authors.forename: Shiwei
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2566-0948
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhou