Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the macroscopic, microscopic, and cross‐sectional structures of the claws of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and a mathematical model of a claw was used to investigate the structure–function relationships. To improve the quality of the SEM images, a non‐local means (NLM) algorithm and an improved NLM algorithm were applied. After comparison and analysis of five classical edge‐detection algorithms, the boundaries of the structural features of the claw were extracted based on a B‐spline wavelet algorithm, and the results showed that the variable curvature of the beetle claw enhances its adhesion force and improves its strength. Adhesion models of the claw were established, and the mechanical properties of its biomaterials were measured using nanoindentation. Considering that the presence of water can affect the hardness and Young's modulus, both ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ samples were examined. For the dry samples, the hardness and Young's modulus were 0.197 ± 0.074 GPa and 1.105 ± 0.197 GPa, respectively, whereas the respective values for the wet samples were both lower at 0.071 ± 0.030 GPa and 0.693 ± 0.163 GPa. This study provides data that can inform the design of climbing robots.
The rostrum of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guer has excellent mechanical properties, such as high-specific strength and high-specific stiffness, and it is an example of successful evolution in nature. In this paper, based on the biological structural characteristics of the rostrum, bionic variable-density lightweight structures of varying layer number are designed, and their mechanical properties are analyzed under different helix angles. The results show that when the helix angle is greater than or equal to 40°, the maximum compressive load borne by the three-layer tube is 30.75 N, which is 1.89 times that of the single-layer tube. Through calculation, at a helix angle of 15°, the torsion lightweight coefficient of the single-layer, double-layer, and three-layer structures is 0.99 ± 0.03 N•M/g, 1.75 ± 0.05 N•M/g, and 2.32 ± 0.06 N•M/g, respectively, where that of the three-layer structure was approximately 2.34 times that of the single-layer structure. Further calculations show that the bending lightweight factor of the single-layer, double-layer, and three-layer tubes is 17.89 ± 0.20 N/g, 33.16 ± 0.45 N/g, 41.33 ± 0.55 N/g, respectively, where that of the three-layer tube is 2.31 times that of the single-layer tube. In addition, this paper also investigates the cushioning energy absorption characteristics of the bionic lightweight tubes by using an impact testing machine. The results show that under the same conditions, as the number of layers of the lightweight tube increases, the buffering energy absorption also increases. The total energy absorption and specific energy absorption of the three-layer lightweight tube are approximately 10 times those of the single-layer tube. Finally, a response surface-based optimization method is proposed to optimize the bionic structures under a combined compression-torsion load. The results lay the foundation for the lightweight design of thin-walled tube structures.
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