Local mechanics: from crumpled sheets to origami and kirigami

Consider a flat sheet of paper - bending it slightly creates a smooth continuous shape.

However, large, constrained deformations (e.g. crumpling) result in the emergence of localised features, in this case a network of creases. After opening the crumpled sheet, the presence and behaviour of the creases is critical to the deformation characteristics of the global sheet. Similarly, introducing cuts into a sheet can drastically affect its mechanical behaviour. For example, increasing stretchability or introducing out-of-plane buckling modes. Understanding the influence of local features, and concisely describing their mechanics, will enable better predictions of the collapse of thin-walled structures but also support the creation of innovative shape-changing devices.

In this talk Martin will describe novel analysis techniques for localised features and their applications in the design of deployable structures and energy dissipating devices.

Image credit: Chinh Le Duc (Unsplash) .