thin-sheet_research

Research Focus:

Mechanics and Analysis of Thin-sheet Structures

Our group explores the underlying geometric mechanics of different structures made from thin sheets such as origami, kirigami, straws, and woven structures. We study the kinematic motions, stiffness, dynamics, multi-stability, and multi-physics of these systems to enable new engineering capabilities and applications.

As part of this research, we formulate, verify, and validate different approaches to simulate the thin sheet structures. We often develop reduced-order ‘bar and hinge’ models that are similar to finite element models but are typically faster, more intuitive, and more reliable at capturing the large nonlinear deformations that occur with thin sheets. We have adapted these bar and hinge models to study quadrilateral/triangular origami, curved crease origami, compliant crease origami, thick origami, kirigami, frustum shell structures such as straws, woven systems, and others. Our analytical tools are available through supplementary information with publications, GitHub, and this website