Supporting Multifunctional Bio-Inspired Design Concept Generation through Case-Based Expandable Domain Integrated Design (xDID) Model

Combining different features inspired by biological systems is necessary to obtain uncommon and unique multifunctional biologically inspired conceptual designs. The Expandable Domain Integrated Design (xDID) model is proposed to facilitate the multifunctional concept generation process. The xDID model extends the previously defined Domain Integrated Design (DID) method. The xDID model classifies biological features by their feature characteristics taken from various case-based bio-inspired design examples into their respective geometric designations called domains. The classified biological features are mapped to the respective plant and animal tissues from which they originate. Furthermore, the paper proposes a representation of the functions exhibited by the biological features at the embodiment level as a combination of the integrated structure (multiscale) and the structural strategy associated with the integrated structure. The xDID model is validated using three multifunctional bio-inspired design case studies at the end of the paper.