• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.323-329
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• 2013

This study attempts to simulate the structure of a woody leaf netted venation system by using topology optimization techniques. Based on finite element method (FEM) analysis of an incompressible fluid, a topology optimal design is applied to those woody leaf netted venation models. To solve the transverse shear locking problem of a thin plate caused by the Mindlin-Reissner plate model where a leaf netted venation is assumed to be a thin plate, a P1-nonconforming element and selective reduced integration are employed. Topology optimal design is applied to multiple physical domains. Combined with the Darcy-Stokes flow problems and extended to the optimal design of fluid channels, the multiple physical models of the flow system are analyzed and venation patterns of leafs are simulated. The calculated optimal shapes are compared with the natural shapes of woody leaf venation patterns. This interdisciplinary approach may improve our understanding of the leaf venation system.