Next-Generation Stable Pop-Up Structures Inspired by Origami

Next-generation inflatable structures keep their shape without consistent input of pressure.

In 2016, an inflatable arch created chaos at the Tour de France bike race when it deflated and collapsed on a bicyclist, tossing him from his bike and postponing the race while authorities rushed to clear the particles from the roadway. Officials blamed a passing viewer’s stubborn belt buckle for the arch’s collapse, however the genuine perpetrator was physics.

Today’s inflatable structures, utilized for whatever from field healthcare facilities to sporting complexes, are monostable, suggesting they require a continuous input of pressure in order to keep their inflated state. Lose that pressure and the structure go back to its only steady type — flat.

But what if these structures had more than one steady state? What if the arch was simply as steady inflated as it is flat on the ground?

Now, scientists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have actually established bistable inflatable structures influenced by origami.

The research study is released in Nature.

“This research provides a direct pathway for a new generation of robust, large-scale inflatable systems that lock in place after deployment and don’t require continuous pressure,” stated Katia Bertoldi, the William and Ami Kuan Danoff Professor of Applied Mechanics at SEAS and senior author of the paper.

Inspired by origami and assisted by geometry, the research study group established a library of triangular foundation that can turn up or fold flat and be integrated in various setups to construct closed, multistable shapes.

“We are relying on the geometry of these building blocks, not the material characteristics, which means we can make these building blocks out of almost any materials, including inexpensive recyclable materials,” stated Benjamin Gorissen, a partner in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering at SEAS and co-first author of the paper.

Taking their style procedure to the real life, the scientists created and developed an 8 foot by4 foot inflatable shelter out of thick plastic sheets.

“You can imagine these shelters being deployed as part of the emergency response in disaster zone,” stated David Melancon, a PhD trainee at SEAS and co-first author of the paper. “They can be stacked flat on a truck and you only need one pressure source to inflate them. Once they are inflated, you can remove the pressure source and move onto the next tent.”

The shelter can be established by a couple of individuals, instead of the lots or so it requires to release today’s military field healthcare facilities.

The foundation of these origami structures can be combined and matched to develop a structure of any shape or size. The scientists developed a series of other structures, consisting of an archway, an extendable boom and a pagoda-style structure. The scientists likewise created shapes with more than 2 steady kinds.

“We’ve unlocked an unprecedented design space of large-scale inflatable structures that can fold flat and maintain their deployed shape without the risk of catastrophic rupture,” stated Chuck Hoberman, the Pierce Anderson Lecturer in Design Engineering at the Graduate School of Design and co-author of the paper. “By utilizing inflatable, reversible actuation to accomplish hard-walled structural enclosures, we see essential applications, not just here on Earth, however possibly as environments for lunar or Mars expedition.”

Reference: “Multistable inflatable origami structures at the metre scale” by David Melancon, Benjamin Gorissen, Carlos J. García-Mora, Chuck Hoberman and Katia Bertoldi, 21 April 2021, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03407-4

This research study was co-authored by Carlos J. García-Mora. It was supported by the National Science Foundation under grants DMR-2011754 and DMR- 407 1922321.