Biomimetic design of woodpecker for shock and vibration protection

Vibration isolation or protection of sensitive electronic devices/units is an ever-increasing demand in engineering practice. This study presents bio-inspired designs for this objective. It is known that, woodpeckers can drum the surface of a trunk at a high speed of 18-22 times per second with an acceleration of more than 1000g, but the damage of woodpecker's brain doesn't occur in this shock. This excellent anti-shock properties can be utilized in the protection of precision instrument in harsh environment. Based on the analysis of the structure of woodpecker's skull, two bio-inspired systems have been designed. The main components such as beak, hyoid and skull bone have been considered and simplified to different layers with different materials. Afterwards, these bio-inspired systems have been analyzed by finite element method (FEM) including modal analysis, transmissibility analysis and shock analysis. The analytical results shows that these bio-inspired mechanical systems can effectively absorb the strong shock or reduce the amplitude of the vibration from the outside and protect the inside devices without damage.