Based on dragonfly wings, design of a ternary heterogeneous bionic thin-plate structure to improve bending resistance

Abstract

Traditional porous honeycomb thin plates with a single unit cell achieve lightweight construction but suffer from a mechanical shortcoming: relatively low out-of-plane bending strength. To address this issue, this paper proposes a biomimetic ternary heterogeneous periodic thin plate structure inspired by the multi-level network of veins found in dragonfly wings. Using the hindwing of the Black-tailed Grey Dragonfly—known for its exceptional flight load-bearing capacity—as a biomimetic prototype, this study extracts the geometric features of its microscopic venation and models them as a hybrid periodic array composed of square, 60-degree rhombic, and hexagonal units. By introducing layer control factors and mixing ratio parameters, the study achieves programmatic regulation of the internal stiffness distribution within the plate structure. To address the out-of-plane bending and torsional loads experienced by the plate during actual service, this study systematically investigated the mechanical response of this periodic structure under static loads and its deformation characteristics under temperature gradients, combining finite element simulations with experiments on 3D-printed specimens made of nylon polymer. The results indicate that, compared to the widely used monolithic hexagonal honeycomb thin plates, the biomimetic ternary periodic structure designed in this study significantly enhances the overall bending and torsional stiffness while maintaining the flexible deformation capability of the distal structure. This study effectively demonstrates the feasibility of enhancing the macroscopic load-bearing capacity of novel thin plates while preserving local structural deformation capabilities, providing an innovative hybrid periodic metamaterial solution for a new generation of lightweight, highly adaptive, and shape-controllable load-bearing structures.