Table 1.
Vessel element dimensions and cell wall properties
| Plant type |
Wall thickness, t (μm) |
Radius, R (μm) |
Length, L (mm) |
Modulus of elasticity, E (GPa) |
Yield strength, σy (MPa) |
Source of data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lily stem (Lilium) | 0·5–1·0 | 15–25 | 0·5–1·0 | –a | – | SEMb investigation |
| Monocotyledons | – | – | 0·76–3·96 | – | – | Cheadle (1943) |
| Plant stems and roots | – | – | – | 2·8–7·0 | 50–120 (tensile) 6–11 (shear) | Blahovec (1988) |
| Iris leaf | – | – | – | 2·7–7·1 | – | Gibson et al. (1988) |
| Hardwoods | – | 20–350 | 0·2–1·3 | – | – | Bodig and Jayne (1982) |
| Wood | – | – | – | 35 | 120 | Gibson and Ashby (1988) |
| Oak latewood (Quercus rubra) | 1–6 | 30–100 | 0·2–0·4 | – | – | Gibson and Ashby (1988), Siau (1984) |
a
–, information not available;
b
scanning electron microsope.