Dragonfly-Inspired 3D Bionic Folding Grid Structure Design

The method proposed in this paper provides a new research idea for biomimetic three-dimensional grid structure material design. The wings of a dragonfly exhibit a complex grid structure, comprising approximately 1–2% of its total weight, yet demonstrating exceptional mechanical efficiency. In order to investigate the feasibility of applying the design optimization method simulating this structure to the material structure design, we adopted a multi-step method to realize the formation of multi-scale grid structures and folds. Initially, the main vein of the front wing was simulated using a branching structure generation technique. Subsequently, a Voronoi grid was overlaid to generate the complete bionic grid structure. Finally, the fold structure of the wing was simulated using origami principles to create a three-dimensional grid structure. This method can obtain the rigid–flexible coupling 3D grid structure by simulating the 3D fold structure design of the dragonfly wing. The results show that the proposed method can obtain structural materials with excellent structural properties by simulating the structural characteristics of dragonfly wings.