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Biomimetics
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Bionic Engineering for Boosting Multidisciplinary Integration: 2nd Edition
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Bionic Engineering for Boosting Multidisciplinary Integration: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomimetics of Materials and Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 3005

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhengzhi Mu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (KLBE), Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China
Interests: biomimetic structures; bio-inspired composites; bionic engineering; biointerfaces
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wenxin Cao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China
Interests: nanocomposites; interface engineering; carbon materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhi-Bei Qu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China
Interests: chemical biology; medicinal chemistry; DNA nanotechnology; multiscale simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jiao Yan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Interests: functional nanomaterials; chiral nanoparticles; self-assembly; biomedical applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bionics has had distinctive multi-disciplinary properties since its birth. The vigorous development of core research in bionics in recent decades has further promoted multidisciplinary innovation. Combining the advantages of disciplines such as mechanical engineering, materials science, physical chemistry, biology, and medicine, bionic engineering has embodied and engineered the ideology of “learning from nature but going beyond nature”, demonstrating the visionary prospects of its engineering applications. Moreover, comprehensive and sustainable development in fields that could benefit from bionic engineering applications, such as bionic intelligent robots, bionic functional materials, and bionic medical engineering, among many other emerging research branches, also greatly expand the research boundaries of traditional disciplines. Therefore, it is beneficial to assess the development of bionic engineering and accurately predict its future development by focusing on the unique role of bionic engineering in promoting multidisciplinary integration. This could also help researchers in multidisciplinary fields grasp the frontiers of bionic engineering research.

This Special Issue mainly focuses on the latest research and original insights into bionic engineering that boost multidisciplinary integration. This may include, but is not limited to, the topics of bionic innovative design, bionic material preparation, bionic engineering applications, etc. We invite biomimeticians, biologists, mechanical engineers, materials scientists, and chemists from all over the world to contribute to this Special Issue. We would also like to create an international, open, and shared academic exchange platform for researchers in the bionic engineering field and seek to promote the high-quality development of bionics together.

Dr. Zhengzhi Mu
Dr. Wenxin Cao
Dr. Zhi-bei Qu
Dr. Jiao Yan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • novel bionic design
  • bionic functional surfaces
  • bionic functional materials
  • bionic green fabrication
  • bionic engineering applications

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2327 KiB  
Article
A Computational Model of Hybrid Trunk-like Robots for Synergy Formation in Anticipation of Physical Interaction
by Pietro Morasso
Biomimetics 2025, 10(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10010021 - 2 Jan 2025
Viewed by 728
Abstract
Trunk-like robots have attracted a lot of attention in the community of researchers interested in the general field of bio-inspired soft robotics, because trunk-like soft arms may offer high dexterity and adaptability very similar to elephants and potentially quite superior to traditional articulated [...] Read more.
Trunk-like robots have attracted a lot of attention in the community of researchers interested in the general field of bio-inspired soft robotics, because trunk-like soft arms may offer high dexterity and adaptability very similar to elephants and potentially quite superior to traditional articulated manipulators. In view of the practical applications, the integration of a soft hydrostatic segment with a hard-articulated segment, i.e., a hybrid kinematic structure similar to the elephant’s body, is probably the best design framework. It is proposed that this integration should occur at the conceptual/cognitive level before being implemented in specific soft technologies, including the related control paradigms. The proposed modeling approach is based on the passive motion paradigm (PMP), originally conceived for addressing the degrees of freedom problem of highly redundant, articulated structures. It is shown that this approach can be naturally extended from highly redundant to hyper-redundant structures, including hybrid structures that include a hard and a soft component. The PMP model is force-based, not motion-based, and it is characterized by two main computational modules: the Jacobian matrix of the hybrid kinematic chain and a compliance matrix that maps generalized force fields into coordinated gestures of the whole-body model. It is shown how the modulation of the compliance matrix can be used for the synergy formation process, which coordinates the hyper-redundant nature of the hybrid body model and, at the same time, for the preparation of the trunk tip in view of a stable physical interaction of the body with the environment, in agreement with the general impedance–control concept. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering for Boosting Multidisciplinary Integration: 2nd Edition)
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21 pages, 4230 KiB  
Article
Bionic Inner-Tapered Energy Absorption Tube Featuring Progressively Enhanced Fold Deformation Mode
by Shuang Zhang, Zhengzhi Mu, Wenda Song, Zhiyan Zhang, Hexuan Yu, Binjie Zhang, Zhiwu Han and Luquan Ren
Biomimetics 2025, 10(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10010006 - 26 Dec 2024
Viewed by 798
Abstract
Slender tubes are in high demand owing to their lightweight and outstanding energy absorption. However, conventional slender tubes are prone to catastrophic failures such as Euler’s buckling under axial load. Interestingly, growing bamboos overcome this similar dilemma via a unique tapered intine in [...] Read more.
Slender tubes are in high demand owing to their lightweight and outstanding energy absorption. However, conventional slender tubes are prone to catastrophic failures such as Euler’s buckling under axial load. Interestingly, growing bamboos overcome this similar dilemma via a unique tapered intine in the internodes, which endows them with excellent energy absorption. Inspired by this finding, a bionic inner-tapered tube (BITT) was designed to enhance the energy absorption of slender tubes under axial load. The special energy absorption (SEA) was evaluated via a quasi-static axial compression test. Then, theoretical calculation and finite element analysis were carried out to analyze the energy absorption mechanisms. The results reveal that the tapered inner wall induces a progressively enhanced fold deformation mode for BITT, which not only prevents buckling failure and decreases initial peak crushing load but also improves the energy absorption efficiency by increasing plastic deformation. The influences of taper and length–diameter ratio on the axial energy absorption of BITT are explored. Finally, the bionic square array (BSA) and bionic hexagon array (BHA) are fabricated by taking BITT as the basic structural unit, which significantly improves the main energy absorption performance indicators under axial load. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering for Boosting Multidisciplinary Integration: 2nd Edition)
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7 pages, 2378 KiB  
Communication
Study on the Effect of Soft–Hard Material Interface Differences on Crack Deflection in Nacre-Inspired Brick-and-Mortar Structures
by Yifan Wang, Xiao Yang, Shichao Niu, Biao Tang and Chun Shao
Biomimetics 2024, 9(11), 685; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9110685 - 9 Nov 2024
Viewed by 993
Abstract
Nacre has excellent balanced strength and toughness. In this paper, the mechanical performance of the typical “brick-and-mortar” structure, including the stress–strain and strain at the interface as well as the stress in the bricks, was calculated by a simplified analytical model of the [...] Read more.
Nacre has excellent balanced strength and toughness. In this paper, the mechanical performance of the typical “brick-and-mortar” structure, including the stress–strain and strain at the interface as well as the stress in the bricks, was calculated by a simplified analytical model of the nacre. This paper proposes a new method to control the crack deflection based on the toughening mechanism of the nacre. The crack extension of the “brick-and-mortar” structure was simulated using cohesive elements based on the traction–separation law with elastic and softening stiffness as variables, and it was found that both stiffness could effectively control the crack extension. The strength and toughness of the models with different stiffness combinations were calculated and plotted as a function of elastic stiffness and softening stiffness, showing that elastic stiffness significantly affects strength and softening stiffness is a determinant of toughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionic Engineering for Boosting Multidisciplinary Integration: 2nd Edition)
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