Zhu Yi, Filipov Evgueni T
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48105, USA.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48105, USA.
Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 15;15(1):2353. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46667-0.
Existing Civil Engineering structures have limited capability to adapt their configurations for new functions, non-stationary environments, or future reuse. Although origami principles provide capabilities of dense packaging and reconfiguration, existing origami systems have not achieved deployable metre-scale structures that can support large loads. Here, we established modular and uniformly thick origami-inspired structures that can deploy into metre-scale structures, adapt into different shapes, and carry remarkably large loads. This work first derives general conditions for degree-N origami vertices to be flat foldable, developable, and uniformly thick, and uses these conditions to create the proposed origami-inspired structures. We then show that these origami-inspired structures can utilize high modularity for rapid repair and adaptability of shapes and functions; can harness multi-path folding motions to reconfigure between storage and structural states; and can exploit uniform thickness to carry large loads. We believe concepts of modular and uniformly thick origami-inspired structures will challenge traditional practice in Civil Engineering by enabling large-scale, adaptable, deployable, and load-carrying structures, and offer broader applications in aerospace systems, space habitats, robotics, and more.
现有的土木工程结构在为新功能、非静止环境或未来再利用而调整其结构配置方面能力有限。尽管折纸原理具备密集包装和重新配置的能力,但现有的折纸系统尚未实现能够支撑大载荷的可展开米级结构。在此,我们构建了模块化且厚度均匀的受折纸启发的结构,这种结构能够展开成米级结构,适应不同形状,并承受相当大的载荷。这项工作首先推导了N阶折纸顶点可平折、可展且厚度均匀的一般条件,并利用这些条件创建了所提出的受折纸启发的结构。然后我们表明,这些受折纸启发的结构可利用高度模块化实现快速修复以及形状和功能的适应性;可借助多路径折叠运动在存储状态和结构状态之间重新配置;并且可利用均匀厚度来承载大载荷。我们相信,模块化且厚度均匀的受折纸启发的结构概念将通过实现大规模、可适应、可展开且能承载载荷的结构来挑战土木工程的传统做法,并在航空航天系统、太空栖息地、机器人技术等领域提供更广泛的应用。