Improved vibration attenuation and control using periodic geometric profiles inspired from woodpecker beak

The vibration of components may lead to fatigue and damage to materials, reducing the component’s life and leading to failure. This study investigates organic spline geometries, inspired by the woodpecker beak’s internal suture structure, to enhance the vibration attenuation in mechanical components and structures. Unlike traditional straight geometries, the woodpecker’s wavy suture effectively reduces the impact forces. In the present study, the bio-inspired wavy geometries are parameterized using simple convex, concave and combined profiles. The influence of geometric parameters on the vibration control, harmonic and attenuation behavior is investigated through 2D numerical analysis for the frequency range 0–2500 Hz. The beam with four convex and one concave profile, is observed to provide reduction in acceleration amplitude by 1.5–1.75 folds compared to equivalent straight beams. Subsequently, 3D sandwich structures are developed incorporating these bio-inspired profiles and analyzed. Their vibration attenuation performance is compared with that of equivalent solid straight structures. The 3D specimens are prepared by sandwiching the aluminum structures with bio-inspired geometric profiles in silicon rubber and sandwiching the silicon rubber with aluminum structures. The results demonstrate that these 3D sandwich structures significantly improve the vibration attenuation, highlighting their potential for real-world applications in various engineering fields. Among them, Polymer Metal Polymer (PMP) provided better vibration attenuation compared to Metal Polymer Metal (MPM) configuration. In PMP, the acceleration amplitude has attenuated 15 times compared to the straight beam. The attenuation performance of MPM is further improved by 25%, upon using an inverted profile configuration compared to the solid straight structures. Based on the inference made from this study, the configuration with superior vibration attenuation behavior is obtained using bio-inspired profiles. The vibration attenuation is achieved through scattering and reflection of the vibration wave by the geometric profiles considered.