Hindwings of insects as concept generator for hingeless foldable shading systems

Hingeless shading systems inspired by nature are increasingly the focus of architectural research. In contrast to traditional systems, these compliant mechanisms can reduce the amount of maintenance-intensive parts and can easily be adapted to irregular, doubly curved, facade geometries. Previous me...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioinspiration & biomimetics 2017-12, Vol.13 (1), p.016012-016012
Main Authors: Schieber, G, Born, L, Bergmann, P, Körner, A, Mader, A, Saffarian, S, Betz, O, Milwich, M, Gresser, G T, Knippers, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomimetic Materials - chemistry
biomimetics
compliant mechanisms
facade shading
fibre-reinforced plastics
Flexagon
Heteroptera - physiology
hingeless kinematics
insect wing cuticle
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Models, Biological
Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology
Wings, Animal - physiology
Wings, Animal - ultrastructure
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Hingeless shading systems inspired by nature are increasingly the focus of architectural research. In contrast to traditional systems, these compliant mechanisms can reduce the amount of maintenance-intensive parts and can easily be adapted to irregular, doubly curved, facade geometries. Previous mechanisms rely merely on the reversible material deformation of composite structures with almost homogeneous material properties. This leads to large actuation forces and an inherent conflict between the requirements of movement and the capacity to carry external loads. To enhance the performance of such systems, current research is directed at natural mechanisms with concentrated compliance and distinct hinge zones with high load-bearing capacity. Here, we provide insights into our biological findings and the development of a deployable structure inspired by the Flexagon model of hindwings of insects in general and the hierarchical structure of the wing cuticle of the shield bug (Graphosoma lineatum). By using technical fibre-reinforced plastics in combination with an elastomer foil, natural principles have been partially transferred into a multi-layered structure with locally adapted stiffness. Initial small prototypes have been produced in a vacuum-assisted hot press and sustain this functionality. Initial theoretical studies on test surfaces outline the advantages of these bio-inspired structures as deployable external shading systems for doubly curved facades.
ISSN:1748-3190
1748-3190
DOI:10.1088/1748-3190/aa979c