Session: 16-01-01: Poster Session: NSF-Funded Research (Grad & Undergrad)

Paper Number: 99585

99585 - Web-Based Applet in Simulating the Growth of Mycelium Network for Research and Educational Purpose 

Mycelium is the root of mushrooms, which helps create a suitable living environment for different plant species and adjusts the soil chemistry and mechanics. It is produced as the main body of fungi before mushroom growth. Their growth can act like natural glue to integrate organic wastes, cement the substrate, and transform into a solid form. It can regenerate quickly compared to other materials and is non-toxic, well-insulated, and naturally produced. Even though the structure of mycelium is not well-known, it is currently widely used in composite materials by integrating with stalks, wood chips and coffee grounds to produce items such as furniture, construction materials, insulation boards, packaging materials, etc., with its biocompatibility and biodegradability. Our research focuses on the multiscale characterization of the structure-mechanics relationship of mycelium-based composite. Specific aims include, but are not limited to, the microstructure of mycelium, the mechanics of the mycelium network, the constitutive law of mycelium composites and the way to synthesize the green materials.  

 

The growth of mycelium from a single spore to a complex network is not fully understood. In this study, we studied mycelium growth by monitoring the network development by seeding the spore on an agar disk and keeping the disk in a climate chamber with well-controlled humidity and temperature. We categorized the key steps of the network growth based on the observation and designed a web-based application based on the Monte-Carlo method to simulate the growing structure of mycelium. The simulation runs on a local workstation using the Python-Flask framework and provides a port for users to visit through their web browsers from any personal devices (e.g., smartphone, PC, mac, pad etc.). The applet allows users to make simple operations before observing the entire growing process of the mycelium from a single spore. This cross-platform tool can be easily accessed through all devices for the public to use. It creates a no-barrier platform for people to run their growing simulation by customizing their desired mycelium growing rate, branching probability, or locations of nutrition sources. For the K-12 group, this application will help them visually understand the structure and mechanism of mycelium growth.

 

Future use of this application includes but is not limited to the educational museum display, which provides a vivid platform for all age groups to discover the structure of mycelium-based composite. For example, by creating a projection of the mycelium growth on the display table, people can control the growth of the mycelium, and there will be a module that represents the location of the nutrition source. The participant can play with the locations of the nutrition sources and observe how they can affect mycelium growth, observing that some configurations can cause mycelium growth to be faster and more robust than others. Moreover, we will present our ideas to incorporate the web-based simulation with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) technologies and game engines to generate broader impacts.

Presenting Author: Ruohan Xu Syracuse University

Presenting Author Biography: Ruohan Xu is a senior Mechanical Engineering & Applied Math major at Syracuse University. He has worked with Assistant Professor Dr Zhao Qin as a researcher in the Department of Civil & Environment Engineering and Syracuse BioInspired Institute for more than two years. His research focus is the multiscale mycelium structure & mechanism as well as the mechanics of silicone materials. His paper "Design, manufacture, and testing of customized sterilizable respirator" was published in the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials in April 2022.

Authors:

Ruohan Xu Syracuse University
Zhao Qin Syracuse University