As the quality of human life on earth is getting better and better, we are also experiencing a
constant threat of energy deficiency for the future. Non-renewable resources like fossil fuels will
eventually deplete and that is why renewable energy sources are attracting a lot of attention
despite involving higher initial capital cost. An increased efficiency in renewable energy
production can play a vital role in soothing the initial entry barrier and encouraging investment
in renewable energy.
Though wind turbine is the traditional way of harnessing wind energy, this might not be the most
efficient device for the purpose. Naturally evolved structures like tree leaves are constantly
subjected to wind loads and studying their dynamics may lead us to develop better structures to
replace traditional wind turbines. In this thesis work, techniques were developed to create finite
element models of a tree leaf which enables us to study the mechanics and dynamics of leaf-life
structures. Tree leaves were scanned to gather the surface data of leaf blade. Then two consistent
methods were developed to regenerate the vernation structure on the scanned blade surface.
Various constraining methods were explored to find the best way to constrain the blade’s motion
to the veins’ motion. Finally, the effects of presence of vein structure and variation of elastic
modulus of veins on mode shapes and natural frequencies were studied using the FEA software
Abaqus.