Preparation and impact resistance performance of bionic sandwich structure inspired from beetle forewing

The beetle has evolved over several hundred million years and possess perfect structure, as well as performance. According to the excellent structure and performance of beetle forewing, a bionic structural material (BSM) was designed and manufactured to improve its low-velocity impact resistance behavior. The surface layer of BSM is carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), and the cores of BSM are aluminum honeycomb. This study aims to investigate the dynamic response, energy absorption, and damage characteristics of BSM in low-velocity and high-cycle impact condition. Results showed that the BSM is superior to single CFRP, with lower peak force, higher energy absorption, and deformation. The damage mechanism of CFRP under cycling low kinetic energy is delamination and then fracture. Meanwhile, the damage of CFRP in sandwich structures is lower than in single CFRP, indicating an excellent impact resistance behavior of BSM, which is useful for practical engineering applications.