ABSTRACT
The team worked to emulate the Elytron, a shell on potato beetles' wings and abdomen, which use a double layer of fibers to create a strong composite. Most structural systems in nature are fibrous and the team strived to develop a biomimetic system capable of performing as well as those in nature. Each panel is initiated with a layer of fibers that defines the geometry of the shape, and serves as a formwork onto which the subsequent layers can be attached. A nozzle saturates the fibers in resin just before they are pulled onto the winding tool. The resin hardens over time, leaving a rigid assembly. The winding sequence is crucial to creating the interaction between the two different fiber types. Panels constructed over the column locations have a larger oculus created by shifting the lists to create a steeper relative angle between each side's relative node locations.
