Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics

A Fluid Dynamics-based Modified Murray Law for Hierarchical Vein Networks in Lotus Leaves: Geometry, Transport Mechanism and Biological Implications

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 College of Petrochemical Engineering and Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, 316022, Zhejiang, China

2 School of Jia Yang; Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou; Zhejiang, China

3 School of Information Engineering, Yango University, Fuzhou 350015, China

4 School of Mathematics and Big Data, Hohhot Minzu College, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010051, China

5 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Lotus leaf is famous for its so-called lotus effect, which has evoked many advanced biomimetic designs, especially for surface’s wetting properties, its tree-like veins are also a source of brilliant innovations. The geometry of the veins is similar to that of blood vessels, where Murray’s law can elucidate the branched structure. However, the law is not valid for the lotus’ vein structure. Here we find a new law to reveal the geometry, and its biological understanding is elucidated, furthermore Murray’s law is a special case of the new found law. Our findings may be of great biological and technological importance, especially in plant ecology, urban traffic planning, watershed planning, and chemical engineering.

Keywords

Main Subjects

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Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics
Volume 56, Issue 3
July 2025
Pages 663-672
  • Receive Date: 17 June 2025
  • Accept Date: 17 June 2025