Study on Impact Resistance of Bouligand Structures

Abstract

Bouligand structures are helicoidal layered architectures widely found in natural materials, including crustacean exoskeletons, fish scales, and bone, and are characterized by excellent impact resistance and damage tolerance. By regulating stress transfer under impact loading and redirecting crack propagation, these architectures promote efficient energy dissipation and toughening. This review systematically examines the biological prototypes, fundamental configurations, and fabrication strategies of Bouligand structures. Particular emphasis is placed on the effects of key parameters, including interlayer rotation angle, helical pitch, layer thickness, interfacial properties, and constituent composition, on impact response and damage evolution. The principal energy dissipation and toughening mechanisms, including crack deflection, crack twisting, interlayer delamination, fiber bridging, and fiber pull-out, are summarized. Advances in the behavior of Bouligand structures under low- and high-velocity impact, together with their applications in protective composites, are reviewed. Current research challenges are identified, and future directions involving graded architectures, hierarchical design, multifunctionality, and computationally assisted design optimization are discussed. This review provides guidance for the design and performance optimization of bioinspired structural materials with enhanced impact resistance.