Deployable Deformable Designs
Abstract
Approved for public releaseDeployable structures can be formed by manufacturing and assembling complex 3D geometries from 2D raw mat,erials; two approaches for doing so include origami inspired cut-and-fold and link-and-joint based auxetics. The structural propert,ies of thin film substrates formed using subtractive manufacturing techniques allows for strong, lightweight, and easily transportab,le structures with a wide range of geometries difficult to achieve otherwise. Meanwhile, the simplicity and availability of the plan,ar materials allows for rapid prototyping and fabrication, which can be coupled with fundamental geometric theory to enable the comp,utational design and manufacturing of prescribed structures.Unfortunately, those two capabilities are often at odds. The theory unde,rlying the design of deployable structures requires strong restrictions on allowable geometric operations--typically assuming rigid,faces or beams attached along single degree-of-freedom folds or pivots. Meanwhile, unique mechanical advantages of the 2D substrates, such as compliance, curvature, and controlled deformation can only be exploited through custom expert-driven heuristic design.We ai,m to rectify this shortcoming, leading to well grounded advances that unlock the ability to transition deployable technologies to ac,tual users outside the research lab. We start by formally defining a theoretically grounded taxonomy of technologies; on those we wi,ll define metrics mapping designs to behaviors. This will also give us the language to clearly define and describe assumptions and c,onstraints. We can then collect and present this information in an accessible interface that lets the stakeholders of these technolo,gies--researchers and users alike--clearly understand their capabilities.With this framework, we can then identify shortcomings and,opportunities for further research, improving the state of the art in computational design for origami-inspired and auxetics-derived, structures throughthe derivation of algorithmically founded theory and its application to realistic material systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 08, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212449
Entities
People
- Ankur Mehta
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, Los Angeles