Design and finite element analysis of a bio-inspired cellular airfoil for selective laser melting en en The development of lightweight aerospace structures with high structural efficiency has increased interest in bio-inspired cellular architectures and additive manufacturing. In this study, a bio-inspired cellular airfoil developed as a candidate architecture for future fabrication by selective laser melting (SLM) is proposed and systematically investigated using finite element analysis. The internal architecture, inspired by the hierarchical structural characteristics of banana stems and spiral shells, was generated through a parametric methodology and integrated into NACA0010 and NACA2412 airfoil profiles. Eighteen configurations were created by varying the position factor (K1) and scaling factor (K2), and their mechanical responses were evaluated under bending using an elastic–perfectly plastic material model. The effects of the geometric parameters on load–displacement response, bending stiffness, von Mises stress distribution, and first-yield load were examined. The NACA2412 configurations exhibited bending stiffness values of 84.0–99.9 kN/mm, approximately twice those of the NACA0010 designs (41.2–48.0 kN/mm). The highest stiffness of 99.9 kN/mm was obtained for the NACA2412 configuration with K1=0.5 and K2=0.5; however, this design developed a maximum von Mises stress of 360 MPa and an estimated first-yield load of 16.0 kN. In contrast, the NACA2412 configuration with K1=0.75 and K2=0.5 achieved a bending stiffness of 90.6 kN/mm, a lower peak stress of 276.7 MPa, and the highest estimated first-yield load of 18.8 kN. These results demonstrate that maximizing structural stiffness alone does not necessarily provide the optimum cellular architecture and that the combined control of cellular size and internal member positioning is essential for balancing global stiffness and local stress concentration. The proposed parametric design framework provides a practical approach for developing structurally efficient bio-inspired cellular airfoils suitable for SLM-based aerospace applications. 144 152 Ata Khabaz-Aghdam Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, Mersin 10 Turkey ata.khabazaghdam@kyrenia.edu.tr Elisee Abu Mulamba Tshibeng Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, Mersin 10 Turkey Omar Wambele Nsimba Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, Mersin 10 Turkey Bio-inspired design Selective laser melting Laser powder bed fusion Cellular airfoil Finite element analysis Lightweight structures Vol 6 No 2 Paper 6.pdf [1] N. Khan, A. Riccio, A systematic review of design for additive manufacturing of aerospace lattice structures: Current trends and future directions, Prog. Aerosp. 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