Deployment dynamics of fluidic origami tubular structures

The application of origami in engineering has offered innovative solutions for deployable structures, such as in space exploration, civil construction, robotics, and medical devices, due to its ability to enable compact folding and expansive deployment. Despite its great potential, prior studies have predominantly focused on the static or kinematic aspects of the origami, leaving the dynamic deployment behaviors underexplored. This research addresses this gap by, for the first time, investigating the dynamics of deployment of origami tubular structures actuated by fluidic pressure induced by air or liquids. We introduce a novel dynamic model that incorporates and combines panel inertia and elastic properties, critical for capturing the complex behaviors of origami deployment that rigid kinematic models overlook, as well as the fluidic pressure effects on the structural mechanics and dynamics. Our findings, derived from non-dimensionalized models, reveal the profound influences of the structural and input parameters on the dynamic responses, marking a significant new advancement in origami research. Our study on fluidic origami tubes, where internal pressure is varied, uncovers how the pressurization level and rate affect the transient dynamics and final configuration of the system. The introduction of a space-invariant fluidic pressure, applied as either a step or ramp function, demonstrates the system's sensitivity to pressure adjustments, affecting its stiffness, damping ratio, and transient response. This feature leads to a rich multistability landscape, offering the ability to achieve various stable configurations through input pressure control, and uncovering unique dynamic responses such as snap-through and snap-back actions that have not been observed in the past. All these outcomes and insights are especially valuable in raising awareness of nontraditional behaviors and expanding our comfort zone in origami engineering.

Overall, the research efforts not only propel new understanding of pressure actuated tubular origami's dynamic behaviors but also lay a novel foundational framework for developing origami-based systems for a wide array of applications, which will greatly enhance the design and operational possibilities of reconfigurable and deployable adaptive structures.