Functional significance of graded properties of insect cuticle supported by an evolutionary analysis

The exoskeleton of nearly all insects consists of a flexible core and a stiff shell. The transition between these two is often characterized by a gradual change in the stiffness. However, the functional significance of this stiffness gradient is unknown. Here by combining finite-element analysis and multi-objective optimization, we simulated the mechanical response of about 3000 unique gradients of the elastic modulus to normal contacts. We showed that materials with exponential gradients of the elastic modulus could achieve an optimal balance between the load-bearing capacity and resilience. This is very similar to the elastic modulus gradient observed in insect cuticle and, therefore, suggests cuticle adaptations to applied mechanical stresses; this is likely to facilitate the function of insect cuticle as a protective barrier. Our results further indicate that the relative thickness of compositionally different regions in insect cuticle is similar to the optimal estimation. We expect our findings to inform the design of engineered materials with improved mechanical performance.