Performance analysis of resilient bioinspired structural systems

Lightweight structures are in demand in many application areas since they provide an optimum use of available resources. For example, in the transportation and aviation industries, lightweight structures increase the energy efficiency. However, lightweight structures need to have adequate strength for their safe usage. This work investigates the performance of novel proof-of-concept structural systems developed based on the rostrum (snout) of the paddlefish. Numerical experiments are conducted on the conceptual prototypes of bioinspired, energy- dissipative mechanical system models with different lattice patterns that mimic those found in the rostrum of the paddlefish. The performance of the models is quantified in terms of deformations and maximum principal stresses experienced by the model under a blast load using fixed plate and cantilever beam boundary conditions. The bioinspired models showed identical trends of stress and deformation. However, the heterogeneous bioinspired structures showed a decrease of 30% in deformation and experienced lower stresses as compared to a structure with identical geometry and homogeneous material properties.