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Updated: May 25, 2026

Microfabricated Platforms for Mechanically Dynamic Cell Culture
Published on: December 26, 2010
Pressure-actuated cellular structures
M Pagitz1, E Lamacchia, J M A M Hol
1Aerospace Structures and Computational Mechanics Group, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. m.e.pagitz@tudelft.nl
Abstract:
Shape changing structures will play an important role in future engineering designs since rigid structures are usually only optimal for a small range of service conditions. Hence, a concept for reliable and energy-efficient morphing structures that possess a large strength to self-weight ratio would be widely applicable. We propose a novel concept for morphing structures that is inspired by the nastic movement of plants. The idea is to connect prismatic cells with tailored pentagonal and/or hexagonal cross sections such that the resulting cellular structure morphs into given target shapes for certain cell pressures. An efficient algorithm for computing equilibrium shapes as well as cross-sectional geometries is presented. The potential of this novel concept is demonstrated by several examples that range from a flagellum like propulsion device to a morphing aircraft wing.
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