Abstract
This study investigates the low-velocity impact behaviour of bio-inspired hybrid helicoidal carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates using finite element analysis. Inspired by the helicoidal fiber arrangement found in the cuticle of the Cotinis mutabilis beetle, six laminate configurations were developed and analyzed using ABAQUS/Explicit. Five of these configurations feature hybrid pitch angle distributions across the thickness, while one uses a constant helicoidal angle. Impact performance was evaluated using load-time, energy-time and displacement-time responses. Four configurations (C1, C2, C5 and C6) were selected for a more detailed analysis of fibre damage, with a focus on tensile (DAMAGEFT) and compressive (DAMAGEFC) failure. The C1 laminate, which resembles the beetle larval cuticle with a large helical angle in the external layers and a smaller one in the internal layers, exhibited the best performance, with minimal fibre damage and fewer affected plies. C2 and C6 experienced more significant damage due to less effective angle transitions. These findings demonstrate that hybrid helicoidal designs with optimised angle gradients can significantly improve the impact resistance and damage tolerance of CFRP structures.