Nuts

Abstract

AbstractThe shell (pericarp) of nuts protects the seed from being eaten before it can germinate. It is presumably designed to resist fracture by external forces, and evolution will have optimised its design for this purpose. It appears that the material of larger shells, which will tend to be structurally more brittle, is tougher. However, the fracture mechanics theory for shells in compression is not available, nor the information on the biological selection pressures.