One-degree-of-freedom flat-foldable thick-panel origami-kirigami structures: modular arrays and closed polyhedra

Area of Science:

• * Engineering and Materials Science
• * Robotics and Mechanical Systems
• * Aerospace Engineering

Background:

• * Origami structures show promise for space applications like solar arrays and deployable habitats.
• * Thick-panel origami designs are limited by a lack of comprehensive theory, especially for complex polyhedral shapes.
• * Existing methods struggle with multi-crease, multi-vertex configurations and achieving structural closure in thick panels.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To introduce a novel design methodology for one-degree-of-freedom (one-DOF) flat-foldable thick-panel origami-kirigami structures.
• * To enable the creation of modular scalable arrays and closed polyhedral structures from thick panels.
• * To provide a framework for designing thick-panel origami-kirigami from centimeter to meter scales.

Main Methods:

• * Integration of origami and kirigami principles to develop a new design methodology.
• * Design of modular arrays with mixed four-crease and (2n+4)-crease vertices for flat-foldability.
• * Development of closed polyhedral structures (tetrahedrons, square pyramids, triangular prisms) with one-DOF inward-flat-foldability.
• * Validation through kinematic analysis and prototype experiments.

Main Results:

• * Successful design of one-DOF flat-foldable thick-panel origami-kirigami modular scalable arrays.
• * Creation of thick-panel origami-kirigami closed polyhedral structures with inward-flat-foldability and structural closure.
• * Demonstrated scalability of the design framework from centimeter to meter dimensions.
• * Experimental validation confirming the kinematic feasibility of the proposed structures.

Conclusions:

• * The proposed design methodology effectively addresses limitations in thick-panel origami for space applications.
• * Novel origami-kirigami structures enable modular expansion and the formation of closed polyhedra.
• * The framework supports the development of large-scale, deployable structures for space exploration and construction.