Integration of design aspects from the Stomatopod's dactyl club for the improvement of the relative strength of rigid composites

Abstract

The club-like appendage of the stomatopod or mantis shrimp called the dactyl club which it uses to smash the shells of its prey possesses a structure which has been found to contribute to the dactyl club’s impact strength, along with unique properties which are open t. This study computationally determines the properties which significantly contribute to the structure’s strength through simulated impact tests, verifies simulated results experimentally through the employment of flexural tests, and provides a novel design, integrating all favorable qualities into a single optimized structure which performs significantly better than both standard quasi-isotropic designs which aerospace and composite industries currently use, and designs obtained from multi-objective evolutionary algorithms which have been used as the standard mode of optimization for composite structures. This could be used in the creation of cheaper and stronger plywood which could significantly help in the construction of disaster-proof housing. Furthermore, this study also provides researchers with a fine-tuned model that can be applied to virtually all fields which use composite laminates and plywood composites.