The Novel Applications of Bionic Design Based on the Natural Structural Characteristics of Bamboo

Abstract

The unique composite gradient structure of bamboo has made it widely recognized as an extremely efficient natural structure and material, endowing it with exceptional flexibility and resilience. This enabled bamboo to withstand the forces of wind and snow without fracturing. In this paper, the inherent structural characteristics of bamboo were examined in order to extract its biological advantages through experimental methods. Then, the structural characteristics of bamboo in its vertical and radial directions served as the respective inspiration for two bionic applications, which were further analyzed and optimized using finite element analysis to accurately evaluate their bearing capacities. It can be found that the density of vascular bundles increased proportionally with the height of the bamboo stem, while the circumference exhibited a linear decrease. The wall thickness of the bamboo decreased and stabilized after reaching a height of 10 m. The distribution of nodes exhibited a nearly symmetrical pattern from the base to the top of the bamboo stem. The tapering of the bamboo culm exhibited a non-linear pattern with height, characterized by an initial decrease followed by a slight increase ranging from 0.004 to 0.010. The vascular bundles in bamboo exhibited a functional gradient distribution, which had a 6:3:2 distribution ratio of vascular bundles in the wall’s dense, transition, and sparse areas, respectively. The bionic cantilever beam incorporated characteristics of a hollow structure, a non-uniform distribution of nodes, and a certain amount of tapering, which effectively enhanced its flexural performance compared to the traditional ones. The thin-wall tube, featuring a “dendritic” partial pressure structure, demonstrated exceptional lateral compressive performance in transverse compression, particularly when the tube incorporated a gradient distribution of partition numbers and layer spacing.

Keywords

• bamboo bionic design
• variations of structural characteristics
• gradient distribution
• bionic applications