Cholla cactus wood ( Cylindropuntia imbricata ): Hierarchical structure and micromechanical properties
Publicado en:Acta Biomaterialia. 174 269-280 - 2024-01-15 174(), DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.12.005
Autores: Morankar, S; Luktuke, A; Nieto-Valeiras, E; Mistry, Y; Bhate, D; Penick, CA; Chawla, N
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Resumen
The Cholla cactus is a species of cacti that survives in arid environments and produces a unique mesh-like porous wood. In this article, we present a comprehensive investigation on the hierarchical structure and micromechanical properties of the Cholla cactus wood. Multiple approaches consisting of X-ray tomography, scanning electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, nanoindentation, and finite element simulations were used to gain insight into the structure, property, and design principles of the Cholla cactus wood. The microstructure of the Cholla cactus wood consists of different com ponents, including vessels, rays, and fibers. In the present study, we quantitatively describe the structure of each of these wood components and their likely functions, both from the perspective of biological and mechanical behavior. Nanoindentation experiments revealed for the first time that the cell walls of the fibers exhibit stiffness and hardness higher than those of rays. Furthermore, the idea of making porous, thin-walled cylinders was abstracted from the design of vessel elements, and the structures inspired by this principle were studied in tensile and torsional loading conditions using finite element simulations. Finite element simulations revealed that the utilization of a larger volume of material to carry the load leads to an increase in toughness of these structures, and thus suggested that the pores should be architected to maximize the distribution of load. Statement of significance The Cholla cactus wood possess a unique hierarchical structure that enables it to thrive in arid environments. Our correlative microscopy approach reveals incredible strategies that individual wood components exhibit to enable the survival of Cholla cactus in extreme environments. The present work quantifies the microstructure and mechanical properties of this very interesting natural system. We further investigate a design principle inspired by the vessel elements, one of the wood components of Cholla cactus, using finite element simulations. The study presented here advances our understanding of the structural significance of Cholla cactus and potentially other desert plants and will further help design architected structural materials. (c) 2023 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Impacto bibliométrico. Análisis de la aportación y canal de difusión
El trabajo ha sido publicado en la revista Acta Biomaterialia debido a la progresión y el buen impacto que ha alcanzado en los últimos años, según la agencia WoS (JCR), se ha convertido en una referencia en su campo. En el año de publicación del trabajo, 2024 aún no existen indicios calculados, pero en 2023, se encontraba en la posición 11/124, consiguiendo con ello situarse como revista Q1 (Primer Cuartil), en la categoría Engineering, Biomedical. Destacable, igualmente, el hecho de que la Revista está posicionada por encima del Percentil 90.
Desde una perspectiva relativa, y atendiendo al indicador del impacto normalizado calculado a partir del Field Citation Ratio (FCR) de la fuente Dimensions, arroja un valor de: 1.04, lo que indica que, de manera comparada con trabajos en la misma disciplina y en el mismo año de publicación, lo ubica como trabajo citado por encima de la media. (fuente consultada: Dimensions Aug 2025)
De manera concreta y atendiendo a las diferentes agencias de indexación, el trabajo ha acumulado, hasta la fecha 2025-08-16, el siguiente número de citas:
- WoS: 2
- Scopus: 3
Impacto y visibilidad social
Análisis de liderazgo de los autores institucionales
Este trabajo se ha realizado con colaboración internacional, concretamente con investigadores de: United States of America.