TY - JOUR A1 - Binder, Nele A1 - Costi, Leone A1 - Izzo, Dario A1 - Seidl, Tobias T1 - Quantifying Nature’s Bistability: Simulation of Earwig Fan Folding T2 - Biomimetics N2 - In this work, a numerical tool is presented to simulate the dynamics of insect wing folding by example of the fan folding of the dermapteran hindwing. The scalability of the system is demonstrated by generalising the mechanical behaviour from the small geometry of the wing to a suitable scale for engineering applications, such as deployable structures for space applications. The tool is written in Python and based on the MuJoCo physics engine. Sections of the anal fan are modelled as a bar-and-hinge model with elastic tendons, allowing a high number of design parameters and fast computation. In light of these advantages, the wing folding and unfolding behaviour is investigated with respect to the tendon’s elastic properties and the actuation of the deformation. Bistability is characterised using a single tendon and the entire fan section. Given the upscaled geometry of the analysed section, the required tendon characteristics to transition between the stable states are identified within a reasonable range for technological transfer towards biomimetic structures modelled after the dermapteran hindwing. KW - biomechanics KW - Dermaptera KW - earwig KW - wing folding KW - bistability KW - MuJoCo Y1 - 2025 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-w-hs/frontdoor/index/index/docId/4907 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1010-opus4-49073 SN - 2313-7673 VL - 2026 IS - 11 (1) PB - MDPI ER -