Designing Load-Bearing Modular Origami Structures

Michigan Engineering researchers are developing modular origami that can be used to build adaptable load-bearing structures. This development could help shift infrastructure from large structures that are stuck in place into structures that can be quickly deployed and repurposed.
The designs could be used to set up temporary structures or rebuild infrastructure after natural disasters, or to build adaptable habitats on the Moon or Mars.
The research is led by Evgueni Filipov, associate professor of civil and environmental and engineering.
Deployable and Reconfigurable Structures Laboratory:
drsl.engin.umi...
Read the paper in Nature Communications:
Large-scale modular and uniformly thick origami-inspired adaptable and load-carrying structures
Published on March 15, 2024
www.nature.com...
Read more:
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The self-deploying aspect will also be important for satellites whose solar panels must be folded to fit into a rocket fairing for launch. One of the best examples is the folding mirrors of the James Webb Space Telescope.

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