Buckling Deformation of Annular Plates Describing Natural Forms

It has been observed that undulating periodic patterns formed on an initial flat annular plate that model the leaves of plants are a physical response to the expansion of the surface under a lateral restraint. They are not visible at the beginning but become apparent only when the plants continue to grow. The behavior can be explained via the inhomogeneous deformation of gel materials that behave in a similar manner to hyperelastic materials in solid mechanics.This paper compares the stability of thin annular plates clamped along the inner edge and free along the outer periphery using numerical simulations of the swelling of thin gel annular plate held along the inner edge as well as analysis of a similar class of structures by solid mechanics concept via energy principle. The trends of results from both approaches compare favorably. The buckling patterns of annular plates with various values of inner radius to outer radius ratio illustrate the relationship between the geometry of the annular plate and the inhomogeneous deformation of gels or buckling patterns of solid mechanics materials. The undulating patterns on leaves such as those of flowering cabbage can thus be explained via the buckling behavior of annular plates, which can be regarded as thin soft materials adhered to a stiffer core. The study can also be extended to cover other stimuli under different environmental conditions and the outcome may bring further insights into the evolution of plants.