Biomimetic Design Approaches for Impact Applications: A Review

The development of lightweight structures with exceptional toughness properties is critical for automotive, aerospace and defence applications. There is a need to reduce the weight and improve the mobility and fuel efficiency of these vehicles without compromising their impact properties. Biomimetic designs have been shown to offer advancement in impact properties over conventional engineering structures, as they are motivated by different biological structures seen in the natural world. This research article provides a board outline of recent developments in biomimetic designs and materials for impact applications. We have described the distinctive characteristics and impact resistance of different natural structures, which can be used to develop an efficient design. Next, the experimental and numerical aspects of present biomimetic structures with various configurations such as composite plates, sandwich panels and aluminium plates have been discussed. Additionally, we review the materials and manufacturing methods that are applied for processing biomimetic structures. We also focussed on insights into conventional manufacturing processes for biomimetic structures, as well as additive manufacturing. Moreover, we also discussed the different impact testing methods and computational techniques adopted for biomimetic design. Finally, we conclude with current defies and the upcoming outlooks of biomimetic designs for impact applications.