A fractional notion of length and an associated nonlocal curvature

Here a new notion of fractional length of a smooth curve, which depends on a parameter $\sigma$, is introduced that is analogous to the fractional perimeter functional of sets that has been studied in recent years. It is shown that in an appropriate limit the fractional length converges to the traditional notion of length up to a multiplicative constant. Since a curve that connects two points of minimal length must have zero curvature, the Euler--Lagrange equation associated with the fractional length is used to motivate a nonlocal notion of curvature for a curve. This is analogous to how the fractional perimeter has been used to define a nonlocal mean curvature.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figure

Homogenization of a system of elastic and reaction-diffusion equations modelling plant cell wall biomechanics

In this paper we present a derivation and multiscale analysis of a mathematical model for plant cell wall biomechanics that takes into account both the microscopic structure of a cell wall coming from the cellulose microfibrils and the chemical reactions between the cell wall's constituents. Particular attention is paid to the role of pectin and the impact of calcium-pectin cross-linking chemistry on the mechanical properties of the cell wall. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the strongly coupled microscopic problem consisting of the equations of linear elasticity and a system of reaction-diffusion and ordinary differential equations. Using homogenization techniques (two-scale convergence and periodic unfolding methods) we derive a macroscopic model for plant cell wall biomechanics

The impact of microbril orientations on the biomechanics of plant cell walls and tissues

The microscopic structure and anisotropy of plant cell walls greatly influence the mechanical properties, morphogenesis and growth of plant cells and tissues. The microscopic structure and properties of cell walls are determined by the orientation and mechanical properties of the cellulose microfibrils and the mechanical properties of the cell wall matrix. Viewing the shape of a plant cell as a square prism with the axis aligning with the primary direction of expansion and growth, the orientation of the microfibrils within the side walls, i.e the parts of the cell walls on the sides of the cells, is known. However, not much is known about their orientation at the upper and lower ends of the cell. Here we investigate the impact of the orientation of cellulose microfibrils within the upper and lower parts of the plant cell walls by solving the equations of linear elasticity numerically. Three different scenarios for the orientation of the microfibrils are considered. We also distinguish between the microstructure in the side walls given by microfibrils perpendicular to the main direction of the expansion and the situation where the microfibrils are rotated through the wall thickness. The macroscopic elastic properties of the cell wall are obtained using homogenization theory from the microscopic description of the elastic properties of the cell wall microfibrils and wall matrix. It is found that the orientation of the microfibrils in the upper and lower parts of the cell walls affects the expansion of the cell in the lateral directions and is particularly important in the case of forces acting on plant cell walls and tissues

On a notion of nonlocal curvature tensor

In the literature various notions of nonlocal curvature can be found. Here we propose a notion of nonlocal curvature tensor. This we do by generalizing an appropriate representation of the classical curvature tensor and by exploiting some analogies with certain fractional differential operators.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figure