Inflatable design and deployment morphology of conical Kresling origami structures

Abstract

Inflatable capsules and tubular structures have been widely used in solar panels, floating platforms, and energy-absorbing components due to their beneficial characteristics, such as lightweight construction and convenient deployment. However, most traditional inflatable capsules require rigidification to maintain their stiffness and deployed shapes, which introduces additional complexity and challenges, especially in space exploration. In this study, we propose an inflatable cone based on the conical Kresling origami pattern, capable of achieving high surface flatness and a large deployment ratio without the need for rigidification. To this end, an improved design method for multi-layer conical origami structures is introduced. The folding and deployment processes of cones with various geometric parameters are analyzed through numerical simulations, focusing on maximum plastic strain, deployment ratio, and surface flatness. The results reveal that conical origami structures with a single chirality exhibit superior surface flatness. Increasing the number of creases and the arc radius can effectively reduce maximum plastic strain. However, excessive creases and an overly large arc radius can negatively impact both the deployment ratio and surface flatness. Additionally, reducing the structure's conicity lowers the deployment ratio and plastic strain but has little effect on surface flatness. The proposed inflatable metallic cone shows strong potential for applications in aerospace and structural engineering.