Impact Resistance and Damage Tolerance of Bio‐Inspired Helical Composite Laminates

ABSTRACT Inspired by the Bouligand bionic structure (derived from the dactyl club of mantis shrimp), this study designed and fabricated three types of bionic helical composite laminates, conducting a comparative investigation with traditional orthogonal ply structures. Through drop‐weight impact tests, ultrasonic C‐scanning, X‐ray CT, and compression‐after‐impact (CAI) tests, the dynamic response and damage tolerance characteristics of the four structures under three impact energy levels were systematically analyzed, revealing their damage failure mechanisms. The results demonstrate that traditional orthogonal laminates exhibit superior impact resistance, whereas the bionic cross‐helical laminates demonstrate better performance in suppressing damage propagation and enhancing damage tolerance, achieving approximately 18.51% higher CAI strength compared to conventional orthogonal ply laminates. Based on experimental results, an integrated impact‐compression numerical model for the bionic helical structure was established, leading to a novel hybrid design combining orthogonal and cross‐helical ply configurations. This architectural design significantly improves impact resistance and damage tolerance through synergistic effects, providing new design insights and engineering guidance for the structural optimization of lightweight composites.