Against the wind: A load-bearing, yet durable, kite inspired by insect wings

Khaheshi, Ali; Tramsen, Halvor T.; Gorb, Stanislav N.; Rajabi, Hamed

doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109354

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…[ 30 ] Thus, flexible joints reduce the risk of material failure, either in the form of plasticity or fracture. [ 11 ] However, a flexible structural element, although being durable, cannot carry loads. Hence, the inclusion of mechanical stoppers helped to limit the flexibility of the “reference model” and enhance its load‐bearing capacity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A key benefit of our design is that the mechanical stoppers can be geometrically adjusted, in order to finetune the timing and magnitude of stiffness change. [11] Insect wings, particularly dragonfly wings, inspired our design strategy, that is, combination of the flexible joints and mechanical stoppers. As mentioned earlier, insect wings represent remarkable examples of a balance between load-bearing and durability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[8,9] In recent years, researchers have applied either of the abovementioned strategies to engineering structures. [10,11] This has usually ended up with mechanical systems that display two DOI: 10.1002/advs.202004338 deformability regimes (i.e., stiffness levels), depending on the magnitude of applied loads. The variable, yet reversible, stiffness levels have provided such "doublestiffness" structures with a major advantage over the conventional single stiffness structures: they can adapt to applied loads.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 16 ] In another scenario, a flexible structure, turns into a stiff one to restrict deformability. Khaheshi et al., [ 11 ] for example, developed a durable structure that is initially flexible, but becomes stiff through an interlocking effect to prevent detrimental large deformations. Each of the two approaches, however, represents a drawback.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Triple Stiffness: A Bioinspired Strategy to Combine Load‐Bearing, Durability, and Impact‐Resistance

2021

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Structures with variable stiffness have received increasing attention in the fields of robotics, aerospace, structural, and biomedical engineering. This is because they not only adapt to applied loads, but can also combine mutually exclusive properties. Here inspired by insect wings, the concept of “triple stiffness” is introduced and applied to engineering systems that exhibit three distinct deformability regimes. By implementing “flexible joints,” “mechanical stoppers,” and “buckling zones,” structures are engineered to be not only load‐bearing and durable, but also impact‐resistant. To practice the performance of the design concept in real‐life applications, the developed structures are integrated into 3D printed airplane wing models that withstood collisions without failure. The concept developed here opens new avenues for the development of structural elements that are load‐bearing, durable, and impact‐resistant at the same time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Triple Stiffness: A Bioinspired Strategy to Combine Load‐Bearing, Durability, and Impact‐Resistance

2021

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“…Recent studies have offered solutions to develop structures with variable mobility [12]. These solutions are often based on complicated strategies, which include layer jamming [9,18], prestretched sandwiched layers of multiple materials [17] and kinematic interaction of multiple surfaces [7].…”

Section: The Concept Of 'Variable Mobility'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spiky-joint: a bioinspired solution to combine mobility and support

2021

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Mobility and support are two structural properties that are often mutually exclusive. However, combining them could enhance the performance of mechanical components, and offer novel technical applications. Here through the implementation of a bioinspired interlocking mechanism in the design of a supportive, yet mobile, wrist splint, we tackled the conflicting combination of the two properties. We elaborated our design into a technology readiness level and, using 3D printing, directly converted it into a real-life application. In contrast to the existing splints, our bioinspired splint supports human wrist without impairing its movements. Hence, it can be used to prevent hyperextension injuries without hindering wrist function. By being interlocked at the maximum wrist extension, our splint could be an ideal wrist support for athletes, especially weightlifters. By restricting the wrist mobility, it could also be used as a support device to treat less severe medical issues, such as sprain, strain, or even for the recovery after cast removal, during which full immobilization may result in muscle atrophy. Our design strategy is purely structural; hence, it can be easily modified and implemented in other engineering applications. The simple, yet efficient, solution developed in this study offers a universal paradigm for developing engineering systems that pursuit both mobility and support. Graphic abstract

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Double‐Spirals Offer the Development of Preprogrammable Modular Metastructures

2023

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Metamaterials with adjustable, sometimes unusual properties offer advantages over conventional materials with predefined mechanical properties in many technological applications. A group of metamaterials, called modular metamaterials or metastructures, are developed through the arrangement of multiple, mostly similar building blocks. These modular structures can be assembled using prefabricated modules and reconfigured to promote efficiency and functionality. Herein, a novel modular metastructure is developed by taking advantage of the high compliance of preprogrammable double‐spirals. First, the mechanical behavior of a four‐module metastructure under tension, compression, rotation, and sliding is simulated using the finite‐element method. Then, 3D printing and mechanical testing are used to illustrate the tunable anisotropic and asymmetric behavior of the spiral‐based metastructures in practice. The results show the simple reconfiguration of the presented metastructure toward the desired functions. The mechanical behavior of single double‐spirals and the characteristics that can be achieved through their combinations make our modular metastructure suitable for various applications in robotics, aerospace, and medical engineering.

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Against the wind: A load-bearing, yet durable, kite inspired by insect wings

Cited by 14 publications

References 42 publications

Triple Stiffness: A Bioinspired Strategy to Combine Load‐Bearing, Durability, and Impact‐Resistance

Triple Stiffness: A Bioinspired Strategy to Combine Load‐Bearing, Durability, and Impact‐Resistance

Spiky-joint: a bioinspired solution to combine mobility and support

Double‐Spirals Offer the Development of Preprogrammable Modular Metastructures

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