A novel method for 3-D microstructure modeling of pome fruit tissue using synchrotron radiation tomography images

Fruit microstructure determines mechanical and transport properties of tissues. This calls for geometric characterization and representation of fruit tissue components. In this paper, three important components of fruit cortex tissue, cell wall, pore network and cells were modeled in 3-D. These components were explicitly defined based on the information gathered from synchrotron X-ray computed tomography and transmission electron microscopy. The cells were modeled based on a novel ellipsoid tessellation algorithm, producing also 3-D void structures in small fruit cortex sample volumes. The cell wall thickness was determined from TEM images using digitization procedures. The resulting geometry models compared well to the tomographic images. The method has the significant advantages of, one, producing models that are easy to use in computer aided design software for multiscale mechanics and mass transfer, and two, providing a framework for virtual tissue generation, including cell growth modeling. Furthermore, the solid modeling approach avoids many problems of finite element meshing existing today.