Resilin microjoints: A smart design strategy to avoid failure in dragonfly wings

Abstract

Dragonflies are fast and manoeuvrable fliers and this ability is reflected in their unique wing morphology. Due to the specific lightweight structure, with the crossing veins joined by rubber-like resilin patches, wings possess strong deformability but can resist high forces and large deformations during aerial collisions. The computational results demonstrate the strong influence of resilin-containing vein joints on the stress distribution within the wing. The presence of flexible resilin in the contact region of the veins prevents excessive bending of the cross veins and significantly reduces the stress concentration in the joint.