Professional Documents
Culture Documents
New Approach To Folding A Thin-Walled Yoshimura Patterned Cylinder
New Approach To Folding A Thin-Walled Yoshimura Patterned Cylinder
New Approach To Folding A Thin-Walled Yoshimura Patterned Cylinder
cannot be maintained because of the large deformation on the creases cylinder were identified by solving the established mathematical
and facets. In this respect, many researchers have stated that the problem as well. Among the multiple configurations that can be
Yoshimura cylinder is not suitable for the deployable/foldable con- obtained from a single Yoshimura cylinder, the most efficient recon-
cepts [27–29]. As a result, studies on foldable or deployable concepts figured configuration was determined, considering both geometrical
with the Yoshimura pattern have only been conducted on noncylin- and structural aspects. The effect of the design parameters on the
drical-shaped structures, mostly for on-ground shelter design applica- height ratio of the original and reconfigured cylinders was also
tions [30–33], as presented in Fig. 1b. analyzed.
Engineering attempts to develop a deployable cylindrical structure The organization of this paper is as follows. Section II describes a
with the Yoshimura pattern have only been made for membrane new folding methodology for the Yoshimura cylinder and reports a
structures for inflatable booms [34]. Tsunoda et al. [35] investigated special case of folding in the proposed folding methodology. Section III
the microgravity deployment and packaging efficiency of inflatable describes the process used to determine the conditions for the special
booms made with the Yoshimura pattern. Senda et al. [36] also folding and the specific position of the vertices that must be reversed
studied the deployment characteristics of cylindrical membrane for the reconfiguration. For Yoshimura cylinders, where the special
structures with various origami patterns. The experimental results folding cannot be conducted, the most efficient reconfigured configu-
showed that the boom made with the Yoshimura pattern had worse ration is defined in Sec. IV, and an analysis of the effects of the design
straight-line deployment performance than the Miura cylinders. This parameters is presented as well. Finally, the conclusions are summa-
was attributed to the significant amount of material deformation. rized in Sec. V.
As noted previously, studies to explore the foldability of the Yoshi-
mura cylinder have rarely been conducted, and the single evaluation of
its performance was negative. Furthermore, none of the previous works II. Folding Concept for the Yoshimura Cylinder
dealt with methodologies for folding the Yoshimura cylinder. A. Proposal of a New Folding Methodology for a Cylindrical
In this study, a new concept is proposed to fold a thin-walled Structure with the Yoshimura Pattern
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
cylindrical structure with the Yoshimura pattern. Using the proposed The new folding methodology we propose in this study is based on
methodology, it is expected that folding the Yoshimura cylinder will reconfiguring the Yoshimura cylinder into another cylinder shape,
be significantly more efficient than simply applying compression to which can also be generated from the bellows fold pattern. Therefore,
fold the cylinder along the axial direction. The proposed folding two origami patterns are of interest in this study: the Yoshimura
methodology basically consists of two steps: 1) reconfiguring a pattern and the bellows fold pattern.
Yoshimura cylinder and 2) compressing the cylinder into a flat Figures 2a and 2b represent a typical Yoshimura pattern and a
configuration. In the proposed folding methodology, a special case cylindrical structure made with this Yoshimura pattern, respec-
of folding exists that does not require the compression process to fully tively. (Throughout this paper, the solid and dashed lines in the
fold the cylinder. origami pattern represent mountain and valley folds, respectively.)
A mathematical problem was established to determine the design The Yoshimura pattern consists of identical isosceles triangles,
parameter conditions that will enable that special folding. The spe- symmetrically connected in each row so that two triangles form a
cific positions of vertices that need to be reversed to reconfigure the diamond shape. Contrary to what may be expected from its origin,
Fig. 1 Representations of a) Yoshimura cylinder and b) concept of foldable mobile shelter system based on the Yoshimura pattern [32].
Fig. 2 Representations of a) Yoshimura pattern, b) cylindrical structure made with Yoshimura pattern, c) bellows fold pattern, and d) cylindrical
structure made with bellows fold pattern.
518 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
Fig. 3 Paper models of a) Operational configuration and b) foldable configuration of the Yoshimura cylinder.
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
Fig. 4 Folding sequence of the Yoshimura cylinder following the proposed folding methodology.
the cylindrical structure with the Yoshimura pattern is very stiff in the folded with less force and deformation. Even the cylindrical shape of
axial direction. Therefore, folding of the Yoshimura cylinder requires the structure can be preserved in its fully folded state. The effective-
a high level of force to compress the cylinder, and the material must be ness of the reconfiguration on the folding process was confirmed
able to accommodate large deformations. The bellows fold pattern is from the following static analysis.
composed of trapezoids, symmetrically connecting each row to form
a certain hexagonal shape, as shown in Fig. 2c. The bellows fold B. Static Analysis for Both Operational and Foldable Configurations
pattern can be created from the Yoshimura pattern by splitting the We conducted a static analysis of three different configurations
vertices where six creases intersect [34]. The bellows fold pattern can using ANSYS: the operational configuration (Yoshimura cylinder)
also be generated by eliminating four creases of mountain folds, and and two foldable configurations (cylindrical structures with the
reversing two creases of valley folds, from the Yoshimura pattern, as bellows fold pattern) that could be reconfigured from the operational
shown in Fig. 2a. Because a certain bellows fold pattern can always configuration, using different reversing vertices.
be created by modifying the Yoshimura pattern, a cylindrical struc- Figure 5 shows the Yoshimura pattern with the definitions of
ture with the bellows fold pattern can also be constructed from the design parameters and operational configuration investigated in the
Yoshimura cylinder. This is the major inspiration for the suggested static analysis. In the static analysis, the design parameters for
new folding methodology. the Yoshimura cylinder were set to have the following values. The
The folding concept proposed in this study is a two-step procedure. number of complete triangles in a single row of the pattern, m, was set
The first step involves reconfiguring the Yoshimura cylinder into a to 12, and accordingly, the cylindrical structure made with this pattern
cylindrical structure with a bellows fold pattern shape. The complete has a hexagonal cross section. The leg length of the isosceles triangle
cylindrical shape of the Yoshimura cylinder presented in Fig. 3a is
called an operational configuration throughout this study. The recon-
figuration is accomplished by pushing (reversing) the protruding
vertices at specific positions, toward the center of the cylinder.
Figure 3b shows the reconfigured cylinder, which is designated the
foldable configuration. Note that multiple versions of the foldable
configuration can be created by selecting different groups of vertices
to reverse. These foldable configurations have the same geometrical
shapes as cylindrical structures made with the bellows fold pattern,
which can be obtained by eliminating the reversed vertices from the
Yoshimura pattern.
Figure 4 represents the folding sequence of the Yoshimura cylinder
when the proposed folding methodology is applied. Because the
Yoshimura cylinder is stiff and stable against axial loading, folding
the cylindrical structure in the operational configuration is difficult.
The reconfigured cylinder (the foldable configuration) is somewhat Fig. 5 Schematic drawings of a) Yoshimura pattern with design param-
less resistant to axial compression, and thus, the cylinder can be eters, and b) operational configuration investigated in the static analysis.
SUH, KIM, AND HAN 519
Fig. 6 Equivalent von Mises stress contour plot for a) operational configuration, b) foldable configuration (triangular cross section), and c) foldable
configuration (rectangular cross section).
in the pattern, a 30 mm, and the apex angle θ was set to be π∕3. static analysis shows that as the cylinder is compressed in its foldable
The number of rows in the Yoshimura pattern, N, was 5. Each configuration, stress and strain occur in its materials. A paper model
structure was modeled as a thin-walled cylindrical structure with a was constructed to observe the behavior of the materials during the
thickness of 1 mm. Finite element (FE) models were modeled with compression process.
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
four-node shell elements having six degree of freedom at each node, Figure 7a shows the edges of the foldable configuration during the
and Al6061-T6 was used as the material of the structures. A single folding process, when the original Yoshimura cylinder is made of
triangular facet was divided into 270 elements based on the results of acute triangles. As we applied pressure to fold the structure, wrinkles
a convergence test. Therefore, a total of 16,432 elements were used to were generated. Because the fully folded configuration of this cylin-
form the FE model in the static analysis. In the FE model, any drical structure is not geometrically feasible, producing wrinkles is
arbitrary two triangles on the surface were modeled to share the inevitable during the compression process, as shown in Fig. 7b. Such
nodes on their common creases. The axial displacement of the creases wrinkles may cause large deformation or fatigue of the materials.
on the bottom plane was fixed during the static analysis. Equivalent Furthermore, storing the structure long-term in its fully folded state
von Mises stress and reaction force were obtained by the static with wrinkles will degrade its structural performance. Therefore,
analysis for the condition that each structure was folded as much as wrinkles should be minimized as much as possible.
1 mm along its axial direction. Figure 7c shows the edges of the fully folded configuration, which
Figure 6 shows the equivalent von Mises stress contour plots for was obtained from the Yoshimura cylinder with right triangles.
the three different configurations. A wire-framed model for each Unlike the case with acute triangles, wrinkles were not observed
configuration is also presented in Fig. 6. The results show that for when it was fully folded. In addition, an interesting phenomenon was
every case, the stress tends to be high near the folding lines of the observed that the structure did not require a compression process to
pattern, rather than at the center of each facet. In every case, the be fully folded into a flat configuration. The Yoshimura cylinder
maximum stress occurs at the vertex placed on the topmost layer directly became a fully folded configuration by conducting the
(pointed with red arrows in Fig. 6) where the 1 mm displacements are reconfiguration process only. This special case of folding in the
applied. As can be seen from Fig. 6 and Table 1, folding the cylinder proposed methodology is designated ideal folding, and the projection
with its operational configuration causes the highest level of stress to of the fully folded cylinder on the bottom plane (equivalent to the
the materials, compared to the other cases. Even for the foldable cross section of the cylinder in the fully folded configuration) is called
configurations, the results showed a different level of the stress based the ideal folding pattern. Under this ideal folding condition, the
on shape. Among the two different foldable configurations, the compression process is not necessary because the foldable configu-
material in the cylindrical structure with the rectangular cross section ration is already flat. It is expected that folding of the Yoshimura
was exposed to less stress overall. The averaged stress level over the cylinder becomes highly efficient through the ideal folding, because
facets meeting at the vertex with maximum stress and the reaction the deformation of the materials will be required only for the recon-
force at the constraints for each configuration are listed in Table 1. figuration process.
From the static analysis, we observed that a much lower level of From the aforementioned observations, we learned that the pro-
force was required to fold the structure in the foldable configurations. posed folding methodology is highly dependent on the shape of the
Even the stress level was much lower in the foldable configuration. original Yoshimura pattern and on the specific position of the vertices
These two results clearly confirm that the reconfiguration of the that have to be reversed to perform the reconfiguration. Therefore, the
Yoshimura cylinder makes folding much more efficient with respect appropriate shape of the triangles and the positions of the reversing
to the required force and the strain in the materials. vertices are needed to be investigated to achieve efficient folding
using the proposed methodology.
C. Special Case of Folding in the Proposed Methodology: Ideal
Folding III. Analysis of the Ideal Folding Pattern
Basically, the proposed methodology requires compressing the One of the important issues in the proposed folding methodology
cylinder from its foldable configuration to fold it completely. The is determining which conditions can result in ideal folding. Also, the
position of the reversing vertices needs to be identified because the
Table 1 Maximum stress level and reaction force reconfiguration cannot be conducted by pushing vertices in random
of each configuration positions. These two issues can be resolved by analyzing the ideal
fold pattern. The mathematical problem was inspired by the follow-
Averaged stress Reaction ing observation.
level, MPa force, kN
Figure 8 shows the operational (Fig. 8a) and fully folded (Fig. 8b)
Operational configuration 464.38 47.43 configurations of the cylinder made with the Yoshimura pattern
Foldable configuration
240.70 12.01 (Fig. 8c). The triangles composing the first row of the pattern are
(triangular cross section)
Foldable configuration
highlighted in each configuration. As mentioned in the previous
106.50 3.22 section, a Yoshimura cylinder made with right triangles can achieve
(rectangular cross section)
ideal folding by following the ideal folding pattern, represented in the
520 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
Fig. 7 Wrinkle generation a) during the compression process; in the fully folded state of b) the Yoshimura cylinder with acute triangles and c) with right
triangles.
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
Fig. 8 Representation of a single row in a) operational configuration and b) fully folded configuration of the cylinder made with c) the Yoshimura pattern
(m 12, N 7, and θ π∕2).
Fig. 9 Visualization of a 2-D loop made of a single stage of the Yoshimura cylinder.
top view of Fig. 8b. A single stage of the cylindrical structure finding problem was established. The route finding problem began
corresponds to a single row of the pattern, and this single stage forms with a simple idea. Consider a centerline drawn across the single row
a cross section of the fully folded configuration. Considering that the of the pattern. This centerline will always form a certain polygon
Yoshimura cylinder is composed of a repetition of stages, the fully when a 2-D loop is constructed by folding a single row of the pattern
folded configuration of the cylinder also comprises the 2-D loops through its creases. We treated this polygon as a certain path that an
made of a single row of the pattern. Referring to the definition of imaginary arrow will follow.
the ideal folding pattern, a 2-D loop made from a single row of the The center of segment AB (presented in Fig. 10) is considered the
Yoshimura pattern is equivalent to the ideal folding pattern. From starting position of the imaginary arrow. Every intersecting point
these observations, it can be easily inferred that, to enable ideal between the centerline and the creases is defined as a selection point,
folding, it should be possible to form a certain 2-D loop with a single where the arrow determines its next movement to be fold or pass.
row of the Yoshimura pattern. Figure 9 provides a visualization of this Because the path is defined from the centerline of the single row of the
idea for a better understanding. pattern, the distance between each selection point is the same as half
of the opposite edge of the apex in the pattern-constituting triangle.
A. Establishing the Problem: Route Finding Problem Figure 11 shows a schematic of the fold and pass movements.
Whether it is possible to construct a 2-D loop from a single row of The fold movement is defined as moving a step forward to the next
the Yoshimura pattern directly corresponds to the existence of the selection point after changing the proceeding direction. Here, the
ideal folding pattern for the given Yoshimura cylinder. Figure 10 angular change in the proceeding direction is always π–θ because
shows a single row of the Yoshimura pattern. To investigate whether it the arrow follows the centerline of the single row. The pass movement
was possible to construct a 2-D loop by folding this single row, a route is defined as moving a step forward to the next selection point while
keeping the proceeding direction. As the 2-D loop is constructed
from a single row of the pattern, the imaginary arrow will arrive at
exactly the same position from which it departed. Because the fold
and pass movements determine the path of the arrow, the issue is
figuring out the return path with combinations of the fold and pass
Fig. 10 Single row of the Yoshimura pattern. movements.
SUH, KIM, AND HAN 521
Figure 12 shows the relationship between the ideal folding pattern B. Solution to the Established Route Finding Problem
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
and the path of the arrow. (The red and blue creases in the ideal folding The first step to solve the established problem was grouping the
pattern represent the folded and not folded creases, respectively.) As fold and pass movements separately. Figure 13 is a visualization of
shown in Fig. 12, the specific combination of fold and pass movements the grouping process. During the analysis, each movement was
to return to the starting position corresponds to the ideal folding pattern treated as a vector.
for the given Yoshimura cylinder. Because the ideal folding pattern Note that the entire route must circle back to its original position.
represents a cross section (or top view) of the reconfigured cylinder, the For the returning route, a change of the proceeding direction is
specific position of the vertices for the reconfiguration can be identified necessary, which can be accomplished by the fold movement.
once we get the ideal folding pattern for the Yoshimura cylinder. Considering that each change of angle in the route due to each fold
Considering the relationship between the ideal folding pattern and movement is always π–θ, the mathematical expression for the apex
the return route, it can be inferred that the apexes of the isosceles angle of the constituting triangle and the number of fold movements
triangles that include the odd-numbered pass movements should be can be expressed:
reversed to reconfigure the Yoshimura cylinder.
There are two assumptions and four constraints in the established nf × π − θ 2π
problem, as follows. All of the triangles constituting the Yoshimura
2
patterns are isosceles triangles, which are congruent to each other. ∴θ π 1 − (1)
Therefore, the first assumption can be stated as follows. nf
Assumption 1: The change in the angle of the proceeding direction
caused by the fold movement is always the same. The solution in Eq. (1) is the apex angle of the constituting triangle,
When a 2-D loop is constructed by folding a single row of the which enables the Yoshimura cylinder to perform ideal folding.
pattern, the folding process is only allowed through the creases. These specific apex angles are named as θid . According to Constraint
Therefore, the second assumption can be stated as follows. 2, the number of fold movements in the returning route should be an
Assumption 2: Fold or pass movements can only be determined at a even number. Therefore, Eq. (1) has discrete solutions, as listed in
selection point. Table 2. Note that the geometrical summation of all the fold vectors
The constraints for the established problem were obtained by forms a certain polygonal shape. (This polygonal shape is stated as a
considering the geometrical feasibility of the corresponding folding resultant polygon in Table 2.)
process under a cylindrical structure configuration. Because all of the From the analysis, it is concluded that only a Yoshimura cylinder
triangles in a single row of the pattern must be used to form the 2-D made of triangles that have the apex angle θ θid is able to achieve
loop, the first constraint for the route finding problem was set as ideal folding. The interesting observation from this analysis is that a
follows: Yoshimura cylinder made with acute triangles is not suitable for ideal
Constraint 1: m nf np . folding.
Given that a single row of the pattern will form a single stage of the Figure 14 shows the conceptual approach used to analyze the pass
cylinder, the two half-triangles at both ends of the single row must vectors. From the fold vector analysis, it was confirmed that the
have the same normal vector when a 2-D loop is formed. More polygon resulting from the geometrical summation of the fold vectors
specifically, this implies that points C and D in Fig. 10 must attach is a regular nf polygon. Because the return route corresponding to the
Fig. 12 Correspondence between the ideal folding pattern and the return path.
522 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
Table 2 Apex angle of the constituting triangles with respect to the a0 a1 cosπ − θ a2 cos 2π − θ · ·· anf −1 cosnf − 1π − θ
number of foldings, and the corresponding shape of the triangle and
f −1
nX
resultant polygon
ak cos kπ − θ 0 (2)
nf θid Shape of the triangle Resultant polygon k0
2 0 None None
4 π∕2 Right triangle Square a0 a1 sinπ − θ a2 sin2π − θ · ·· anf −1 sinnf − 1π − θ
6 2π∕3 Obtuse triangle Regular hexagon nf −1
X
8 3π∕4 Obtuse triangle Regular octagon ak sin kπ − θ 0 (3)
.. .. .. .. k0
. . . .
2n n − 1π∕n Obtuse triangle Regular nf polygon
All the parameters used to form Eqs. (2) and (3) have real number
values, and so both equations can be combined to form a single
equation. Finally, the equation can be expressed using Euler’s formula:
ideal folding pattern has a polygonal shape as well, this can be f −1
nX f −1
nX
obtained by adding an increment of length to certain vertices of the ak fcos kπ − θ i sin kπ − θg ak eikπ−θ 0 (4)
resultant polygon. To create a polygon by adding an increment of k0 k0
length to a regular polygon, the summation of the incremental vectors
should be zero. Here, the pass vectors are treated as an increment in Because all the fold and pass movements in this problem are
length; thus, the summation of all the pass vectors should be zero. conducted at the selection point, and all of the selection points are
Taking Constraint 3 into account, the number of pass vectors used to form the final path, the number of fold and pass vectors should
inserted at certain vertices of the resultant polygon should be an even be m. By using the stated relationship and considering that ak is
number. Therefore, vector ak is defined to represent the double pass defined as the number of double pass vectors in the kth vertices of a
vectors, which are inserted at the kth vertex of the regular nf polygon. regular polygon, the sum of ak can be obtained as follows:
The norm of the double pass vector ak is the number of double pass
vectors. The direction of the vector will be the same as the direction of f −1
nX
m − nf
the corresponding edge of the resultant polygon. Therefore, the angle ak (5)
differences between two adjacent ak is π–θ, as shown in Fig. 15. k0
2
Because the summation of all the double pass vectors should be
zero, the following two equations regarding ak are derived by con- From the fold and pass vector analysis, three governing equations
sidering each directional component of the double pass vectors: were derived: the equation regarding θ and nf [Eq. (1)], the equation
Fig. 14 Approach to form a complete route to return by inserting pass vectors in the resultant polygon.
SUH, KIM, AND HAN 523
Fig. 16 Target configuration for case study 1: a) Yoshimura pattern (m 12, θ 2π∕3, and N 5), b) corresponding operational configuration.
Fig. 17 Insertion of the double pass movements to certain vertices of the resultant polygon.
524 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
Fig. 18 Visualization of case study 1 results: a) Reproduction of the ideal folding pattern, b) operational configuration, and c) fully folded configuration.
completely folded without any wrinkles by following the ideal fold- Excluding the redundant pairs, there are two ordered pairs of ak
ing pattern. satisfying Eq. (4): hak i a0 ; a1 ; a2 ; a3 1; 1; 1; 1, hak i
a0 ; a1 ; a2 ; a3 2; 0; 2; 0.
D. Case Study 2: A Yoshimura Cylinder with Two Different Ideal For candidate 1
Folding Patterns
The previous case involved a cylinder with only one ideal folding f −1
nX X
3
pattern. Referring to the equations derived in this study, multiple pairs ak eikπ−θ ak eikπ∕2 ei0 eiπ∕2 eiπ ei3π∕2 0
of ak for the ideal folding pattern can exist as the number of triangles k0 k0
in a single row increases or the value of the apex angle decreases.
(11)
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
Figure 19 shows the case when the single row of the pattern has 12
right triangles. In this case, five rows were used to construct the
Yoshimura cylinder, and in its operational configuration, the structure For candidate 2
had a hexagonal cross section. For the given apex angle, the required
number of foldings in the ideal folding pattern can be obtained as
f −1
nX X
3
follows:
ak eikπ−θ ak eikπ∕2 2ei0 2eiπ 0 (12)
k0 k0
2
θ π 1− ∴nf 4 (9)
nf
The corresponding ideal folding patterns are presented in Fig. 20.
With the value of nf , the summation of ak will be determined as All the fold vectors inside the ideal folding pattern form a square,
unlike the previous case study for the Yoshimura cylinder with obtuse
f −1
nX X triangles. The Yoshimura cylinder discussed in this case can also be
3
m − nf 12 − 4
ak ak 4 (10) compactly folded without any wrinkles by following the ideal folding
2 2
k0 k0 pattern.
Fig. 19 Target configuration for case study 2: a) Yoshimura pattern (m 12, θ π∕2, and N 5), b) corresponding operational configuration.
Fig. 20 Paper models representing a) operational configuration, and two different folded configurations using the ideal folding patterns of b) candidate 1
and c) candidate 2.
SUH, KIM, AND HAN 525
IV. Geometrical Analysis of the Yoshimura Cylinders: A. Selection of the Most Efficient Foldable Configuration
Non-Ideal Folding Cases One of the most promising applications of the proposed method-
In the previous section, the proposed folding methodology was ology would be for a foldable or deployable cylindrical system. In
analyzed for the ideal folding cases when the Yoshimura cylinder was this case, the most important characteristic of the system will be the
composed of triangles having θid . In those cases, the folding of the dimensions of the cylinder in the folded configuration. The folded
Yoshimura cylinder does not require compression process because configuration should be as small as possible to provide optimum
the cylinder directly becomes a fully folded configuration by recon- benefit for storage and transportation. If the height of the cylinder is
figuring it through the ideal folding pattern. When ideal folding is not too high, then considerable effort will be required to fold it into a
possible for a given Yoshimura cylinder (i.e., θ ≠ θid ), that cylinder compact form. Consequently, it is reasonable to conclude that smaller
has a foldable configuration as an intermediate state of the entire height and smaller diameter represent higher efficiency.
folding sequence. To compare the dimensions of the various foldable configurations,
As shown in Fig. 21, the foldable configuration of those Yoshimura the height of the foldable configuration was formulated with the
cylinders can be constructed by reconfiguring it using the ideal folding design parameters corresponding to the ideal folding pattern. The
pattern of a Yoshimura cylinder with the same value of m, but which is formulation began with a simple observation about the foldable
able to achieve ideal folding. The following is the detailed procedure to configuration: the projection of the foldable configuration on the
obtain the ideal folding pattern consisting of m triangles. Once m is bottom plane is always the same as the corresponding ideal folding
decided, all the possible candidates of θid can be obtained from Eq. (1). pattern.
In Eq. (1), nf means the number of fold movements required to form a Figure 23 shows a top view of a certain foldable configuration and
return route. From constraints 1 and 2, nf should be an even number the pattern-constituting triangle in a single stage. The variables b and
that is smaller than m. For all possible nf values, the corresponding θ c can be expressed as functions of a, θ through the trigonometric
values calculated from Eq. (1) will be candidates of θid for the given m. equations:
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
For each candidate of θid , hak i is obtained as the solution of Eqs. (4)
and (5), and makes a pair with the corresponding θid to form a single θ
b 2a sin (13)
return route. The ideal folding pattern can be obtained by reproducing 2
2-D loop from the return route. Various ideal folding patterns may exist
for a certain value of m because the corresponding values of θid for the θ
ideal folding pattern can differ. As a result, the cylinder may have c a cos (14)
2
multiple numbers of foldable configurations, because there can be
multiple ideal folding pattern options.
For the centerline of the triangle projected from the pattern-constitut-
Figure 22a shows the operational configuration of the hexagonal
ing triangle, the following relationship comes into existence:
Yoshimura cylinder, which has design parameters of m 12,
θ π∕3, and N 7. This Yoshimura cylinder can have different
b
foldable configurations depending on the values of θid for the ideal c cos β (15)
folding patterns. Even if the corresponding values of θid are the 2 tanθid ∕2
same, the ideal folding pattern can vary through hak i, as shown in
Figs. 22b–22d. where β is the inclination angle. Substituting Eqs. (13) and (14) into
Among the multiple foldable configurations for a single Yoshimura Eq. (15), the inclination angle β can be obtained as a function of θ and
cylinder, we tried to determine the most efficient configuration from θid . Finally, the height of a single stage of the foldable configuration
both geometrical and structural perspectives. can be obtained as follows:
Fig. 21 Reconfiguration of the Yoshimura cylinder with a) m 12, θ π∕2, and N 5, and b) m 12, θ π∕3, and N 5 by following c) the ideal
folding pattern with θid π∕2 and ak 1; 1; 1; 1.
Fig. 22 Representations of a) operational configuration (m 12, θ π∕3, N 7) and b) foldable configurations: ideal folding patterns with
b) θid 2π∕3, hak i 1; 0; 1; 0; 1; 0, c) θid π∕2, hak i 1; 1; 1; 1, and d) θid π∕2, hak i 2; 0; 2; 0.
526 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
Fig. 23 Schematic drawings of a) top view of the foldable configuration and b) the pattern constituting triangle in a single stage.
θ
cos β tan
2
=tan θ2 id
(16)
Here, the smaller value of shak i implies the effective diameter is
smaller. Figure 24 shows the effective cross sections of two different
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
Fig. 24 Comparison of the effective diameters for two different ideal folding patterns with θid π∕2: a) hak i 1; 1; 1; 1 and b) hak i 2; 0; 2; 0.
SUH, KIM, AND HAN 527
corresponding to the same θid , then shak i is applied to identify the The foldable configuration is also affected by them, and conse-
configuration with a smaller effective diameter. quently, analyzing how these design parameters affect the dimen-
Referring to the results of the static analysis presented in Sec. II.B, sions of the system is important to determine the effectiveness of the
the aforementioned conclusion is also valid from a structural per- proposed folding methodology. The ratio of the height of the opera-
spective. The foldable configurations presented in Figs. 6b and 6c are tional configuration Hop to the height of the most efficient foldable
cylinders reconfigured by following the ideal folding pattern, with configuration H fd is mathematically derived.
θid 2π∕3 and hak i 1; 0; 1; 0; 1; 0, and θid π∕2 and hak i Figure 25 shows enlarged figures of the top view (Fig. 25a) and side
1; 1; 1; 1, respectively. The foldable configuration with the lower view (Fig. 25b) of the Yoshimura cylinder. The cross section of the
value of θid required less force to fold the cylinder. Even less stress Yoshimura cylinder always forms a regular polygon with respect to the
was applied to the material. This result shows that selecting the value of m. Therefore, ϕ can be represented as the function of m:
foldable configuration with a smaller value of θid is also more
structurally efficient. πm∕2 − 2 πm − 4
To investigate the effect of diameter on the force and stress levels, ϕ (21)
m∕2 m
an additional static analysis was conducted for the six cases listed in
Table 3. The length x can be obtained by two different mathematical expres-
The foldable configurations for cases 2 and 3 are from the opera- sions on the length b:
tional configuration presented as case 1, by folding it using the ideal
folding pattern listed in Table 3. Cases 5 and 6 are from case 4 as ϕ a θ
well. For every case of the static analysis, the design parameters for 2 x x sin b sin
2 2 2
the operational configurations were set as follows: a 30 mm,
θ π∕3, and N 5. The analysis condition was the same as in θ ϕ
the previous static analysis. The required force and the averaged
∴x a sin
2
1 sin
2
(22) =
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
stress level over the facets meeting at the vertex with maximum stress
were obtained for each case with a folding condition of 1 mm. The The inclination angle β can be represented as the function of θ, m, by
results are listed in Table 4. using the two different mathematical expressions of length d:
The results show that for both Yoshimura cylinders, much less
force was required to fold them from their foldable configurations, ϕ
and the stress level induced on the material was low as well. Among d c cos β x cos
2
the foldable configurations, the required force level was similar when
θ ϕ ϕ
θid is the same. But, the configuration with a smaller value of shak i was ∴ cos β tan ⋅ cos
2 2
1 sin
2
= (23)
found to be most efficient with respect to the stress level.
Based on the analysis of the geometrical and structural aspects of
Finally, the height of the single stage of the operational configuration
the foldable configuration, it is concluded that following the ideal
hop is derived as a function of the design parameters using Eqs. (14),
folding pattern with the smallest value of θid and shak i leads to the
most efficient foldable configuration among the various candidates. (21), and (23):
s
θ θ ϕ ϕ 2
B. Analysis of the Height Ratio of the Operational and Foldable
Configurations
hop c sin β a cos
2
1 − tan2
2
cos
2
= 1 sin
2
A Yoshimura cylinder has four design parameters: a, θ, m, and N. s
2
θ θ πm − 4 πm − 4
The dimensions of a Yoshimura cylinder vary with these parameters.
a cos
2
1 − tan2
2
cos
2m
= 1 sin
2m
Table 3 Descriptions of the six different cases used for the static (24)
analysis
Case Corresponding ideal folding The entire height of the operational configuration H op can be simply
number m Type of configuration pattern obtained by multiplying N by hop. Combining Eqs. (17) and (24), the
1 18 Operational configuration N/A height ratio, H op ∕H fd , is derived as a function of several design
2 18 Foldable configuration θid 2π∕3, parameters:
hak i 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1
3 18 Foldable configuration θid 2π∕3, H op ∕H fd hop ∕hfd
hak i 2; 0; 2; 0; 2; 0
1 − tan2 θ∕2fcosπm − 4∕2m∕1 sinπm − 4∕2mg2 1∕2
4 20 Operational configuration N/A
5 20 Foldable configuration θid π∕2, hak i 2; 2; 2; 2 1 − tan2 θ∕2∕tan2 θid ∕2
6 20 Foldable configuration θid π∕2, hak i 3; 1; 3; 1 (25)
N/A = not applicable. Because θid is a deterministic value that can be obtained by solving the
simultaneous equations of Eqs. (1), (4), and (5), it can be concluded
that only θ and m affect the height ratio.
Table 4 Maximum stress levels and reaction forces for each case
presented with a standard deviation of hak i
Figure 26 shows the height ratio with respect to varying values of
m for five different Yoshimura cylinders having values of θ smaller
Averaged stress level, Reaction force, than π∕2. The sawtooth shape of the plot is due to the shift in the
Case number MPa kN shak i corresponding ideal folding pattern of the foldable configuration.
1 520.23 92.45 N/A Here, the Yoshimura cylinders with a high height ratio (indicated by
2 169.57 11.37 0 the solid arrows in Fig. 26) have a foldable configuration that
p
3 236.26 11.94 30∕6 corresponds to the ideal folding pattern, with θid π∕2. In contrast,
4 530.30 108.63 N/A the Yoshimura cylinders with low height ratio (indicated by the
5 93.75 2.96 0 dashed arrows in Fig. 26) cannot be reconfigured through the ideal
p
6 96.63 2.96 2 3∕3 folding pattern with θid π∕2, because the three governing equa-
tions do not have a solution at θid π∕2 under the given design
N/A = not applicable. parameters. Those cylinders have the solution of the three governing
528 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
Fig. 25 Enlarged a) top view and b) side view of the operational configuration.
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
equations at θid 2π∕3. The height ratio of the Yoshimura cylinder Yoshimura cylinder whose value of θ is near to π∕2 (but still lower)
slowly increases as the value of m increases. In general, the Yoshi- will have the most geometrically efficient folding, using the pro-
mura cylinder with the large value of θ shows a much higher height posed folding methodology.
ratio for its operational and foldable configurations. It can be inferred
that θ is a much more critical parameter than m for the height ratio.
Figure 27 presents the height ratio of the Yoshimura cylinder V. Conclusions
with respect to varying values of θ, when m is 12. As the value of θ In this study, a new folding methodology for the Yoshimura
increases, the corresponding ideal folding pattern for the foldable cylinder was proposed. The proposed folding methodology can be
configuration changes when θ exceeds the values of θid , which are applied to design a deployable system. The proposed folding concept
listed in Table 2. The values of θid presented in each region imply consists of two steps: reconfiguration of the cylinder and compres-
θid of the ideal folding pattern that is used to reconfigure the sion. The reconfiguration process was performed by reversing the
Yoshimura cylinder to form the corresponding foldable configura- protruding vertices on the surface, whose positions were identified
tion. The height ratio of the Yoshimura cylinder increases as the from a certain pattern called an ideal folding pattern. Through the
value of θ gets closer to θid values. Referring to Eq. (17), the height reconfiguration process, the cylinder changed its configuration to be
of the foldable configuration converges to zero as the value of θ gets less stiff in the axial direction; thus, the reconfigured cylinder can be
closer to θid . This is the major reason why the height ratio of the folded by compression while preserving its axis and internal
Yoshimura cylinder shows the higher values in the vicinity of envelope. The effectiveness of the proposed folding methodology
θid . From the results of these analyses, we concluded that the was confirmed through static numerical analyses of the original and
SUH, KIM, AND HAN 529
reconfigured cylinders. Compared to the conventional folding [7] Pehrson, N. A., and Banik, J. A., “Folding Approaches for Tensioned
approaches, folding the cylinder through the proposed methodology Precision Planar Shell Structures,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets,
required less force to fold and induced less stress in the material. Vol. 56, No. 2, 2019, pp. 559–568.
A route finding problem was established to determine the ideal https://doi.org/10.2514/1.A34263
[8] Papa, A., and Pellegrino, S., “Systematically Creased Thin-Film Mem-
folding pattern for the Yoshimura cylinder. Three governing equa- brane Structures,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 45, No. 1,
tions were derived, and the shapes of the pattern-constituting trian- 2008, pp. 10–18.
gles that enabled ideal folding were identified. It was revealed that the https://doi.org/10.2514/1.18285
Yoshimura cylinder composed of those specific triangles may not [9] Pehrson, N. A., Smith, S. P., Ames, D. C., Magleby, S. P., and Arya, M.,
require the compression process because the reconfigured shape “Self-Deployable, Self-Stiffening, and Retractable Origami-Based
becomes completely flat. The ideal folding pattern of the Yoshimura Arrays for Spacecraft,” AIAA SciTech 2019 Forum, AIAA Paper
cylinder was obtained by solving the three governing equations 2019-0484, Jan. 2019.
simultaneously. Several case studies were carried out for Yoshimura https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-0484
cylinders, which are feasible to the ideal folding. The results of the [10] Kuribayashi, K., Tsuchiya, K., You, Z., Tomus, D., Umemoto, M., Ito,
T., and Sasaki, M., “Self-Deployable Origami Stent Grafts as a Bio-
case studies confirmed that the Yoshimura cylinder can be folded medical Application of Ni-Rich TiNi Shape Memory Alloy Foil,”
without wrinkles by reconfiguring it using the corresponding ideal Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 419, Nos. 1–2, March
folding pattern. 2006, pp. 131–137.
A Yoshimura cylinder that is not feasible for ideal folding has https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2005.12.016
intermediate foldable configurations. The foldable configurations [11] Fernandes, R., and Gracias, D. H., “Self-Folding Polymeric Containers
were obtained from the reconfiguration process, following the ideal for Encapsulation and Delivery of Drugs,” Advanced Drug Delivery
folding patterns with the same number of triangles. Geometric and Reviews, Vol. 64, No. 14, Nov. 2012, pp. 1579–1589.
structural analyses were conducted for the foldable configurations. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2012.02.012
Based on the analysis results, it was concluded that following the ideal [12] Randall, C. L., Gultepe, E., and Gracias, D. H., “Self-Folding Devices
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784
folding pattern with the smallest value of θid and shak i leads to the most and Materials for Biomedical Applications,” Trends in Biotechnology,
efficient foldable configuration among the various candidates. Vol. 30, No. 3, March 2012, pp. 138–146.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2011.06.013
The dimensions of both the original and reconfigured cylinders [13] Miura, K., “Method of Packaging and Deployment of Large Membranes
were mathematically derived as a function of design parameters. To in Space,” Inst. of Space and Astronautical Science Rept. 618, Tokyo,
investigate the effect of the design parameters on the proposed 1985.
folding methodology, the ratio of the height of the original configu- [14] Horner, G., and Elliott, M., “A Fabrication and Deployment Approach
ration to the height of the reconfigured configuration was defined and for a Miura-Ori Solar Sail Model,” 43rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC
analyzed with respect to two design parameters: m and θ. As a result Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, AIAA
of the parametric study, it was concluded that θ was the most critical Paper 2002-1708, April 2002.
parameter affecting the height ratio of the original and reconfigured https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2002-1708
cylinders. [15] Wright, T., Laue, G., and Horner, G., “A Practical Approach to Large-
Area Solar Sail Assembly Utilizing the Miura-Ori Folding Technique,”
39th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit,
AIAA Paper 2003-4663, July 2003.
Acknowledgments https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2003-4663
The current research was supported by the Space Core Technology [16] Sigel, D., Trease, B. P., Thomson, M. W., Webb, D. R., Willis, P., and
Development Program (NRF- 2018M1A3A3A02065888) and the Lisman, P. D., “Application of Origami in the Starshade Spacecraft
High Potential Individuals Global Training Program (2019-0- Blanket Design,” Proceedings of the ASME 2014 International Design
Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information
01598), which are supervised by the National Research Foundation
in Engineering Conference, American Soc. of Mechanical Engineers,
of Korea and the Institute of Information & Communications Tech-
New York, 2014, p. V05BT08A033.
nology Planning & Evaluation, respectively. Both programs are funded https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2014-34315
by the Korean government (Ministry of Science and ICT). The authors [17] Zirbel, S. A., Trease, B. P., Thomson, M. W., Lang, R. J., Magleby, S. P.,
would like to acknowledge the technical support from Ansys Korea. and Howell, L. H., “HanaFlex: A Large Solar Array for Space Appli-
cations,” Proceedings of SPIE Defense + Security, Vol. 9467, Inter-
national Soc. for Optics and Photonics, Baltimore, MD, 2015,
References p. 94671C.
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2177730
[1] Turner, N., Goodwine, B., and Sen, M., “A Review of Origami Appli-
[18] Buri, H., and Weinand, Y., “ORIGAMI—Folded Plate Structures,
cations in Mechanical Engineering,” Proceedings of the Institution of
Architecture,” Proceedings of the 10th World Conference on Timber
Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering, Engineered Wood Products Assoc., Miyazaki, Japan, June
Science, Vol. 230, No. 14, Aug. 2016, pp. 2345–2362.
2008.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0954406215597713
[19] Ma, J., and You, Z., “Modelling of the Waterbomb Origami Pattern and
[2] Thrall, A. P., and Quaglia, C. P., “Accordion Shelters: A Historical
Its Applications,” Proceedings of the ASME 2014 International Design
Review of Origami-Like Deployable Shelters Developed by the US
Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in
Military,” Engineering Structures, Vol. 59, Feb. 2014, pp. 686–692.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2013.11.009 Engineering Conference, American Soc. of Mechanical Engineers, New
[3] Gioia, F., Dureisseix, D., Motro, R., and Maurin, B., “Design and York, 2014, p. V05BT08A047.
Analysis of a Foldable/Unfoldable Corrugated Architectural Curved https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2014-35073
Envelop,” Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 134, No. 3, March [20] Lee, D., Kim, J., Kim, S., Koh, J., and Cho, K., “The Deformable
2012, Paper 031003. Wheel Robot Using Magic-Ball Origami Structure,” Proceedings of
https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4005601 the ASME 2013 International Design Engineering Technical
[4] Greschik, G., and Mikulas, M. M., “Design Study of a Square Solar Sail Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering
Architecture,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 39, No. 5, Sept. Conference, American Soc. of Mechanical Engineers, New York,
2002, pp. 653–661. 2013, p. V06BT07A040.
https://doi.org/10.2514/2.3886 https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2013-13016
[5] Zirbel, S. A., Lang, R. J., Thomson, M. W., Sigel, D. A., Walkemeyer, [21] Guest, S. D., and Pellegrino, S., “The Folding of Triangulated Cylinders,
P. E., Trease, B. P., Magleby, S. P., and Howell, L. L., “Accommodating Part I: Geometric Considerations,” Journal of Applied Mechanics,
Thickness in Origami-Based Deployable Arrays,” Journal of Mechani- Vol. 61, No. 4, 1994, pp. 773–777.
cal Design, Vol. 135, No. 11, Nov. 2013, Paper 111005. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2901553
https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4025372 [22] Guest, S. D., and Pellegrino, S., “The Folding of Triangulated Cylinders,
[6] Nishiyama, Y., “Miura Folding: Applying Origami to Space Explora- Part II: The Folding Process,” Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 61,
tion,” International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, Vol. 79, No. 4, 1994, pp. 778–783.
No. 2, 2012, pp. 269–279. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2901554
530 SUH, KIM, AND HAN
[23] Guest, S. D., and Pellegrino, S., “The Folding of Triangulated Cylinders, [31] Tonon, O. L., “Geometry of Spatial Folded Forms,” International
Part III: Experiments,” Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 63, No. 1, Journal of Space Structures, Vol. 6, No. 3, 1991, pp. 227–240.
1996, pp. 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/026635119100600305
https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2787212 [32] De Temmerman, I. A., Mollaert, M., Van Mele, I. A., and De Laet, I. A.,
[24] Wilson, L., Pellegrino, S., and Danner, R., “Origami Sunshield Con- “Design and Analysis of a Foldable Mobile Shelter System,”
cepts for Space Telescopes,” 54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Struc- International Journal of Space Structures, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2007,
tures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, AIAA Paper pp. 161–168.
2013-1594, April 2013. https://doi.org/10.1260/026635107782218868
https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2013-1594 [33] Cai, J., Deng, X., Xu, Y., and Feng, J., “Motion Analysis of a Foldable
[25] Hunt, G. W., and Ario, I., “Twist Buckling and the Foldable Cylinder: Barrel Vault Based on Regular and Irregular Yoshimura Origami,” Jour-
An Exercise in Origami,” International Journal of Non-Linear Mechan- nal of Mechanisms and Robotics, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2016, Paper 021017.
ics, Vol. 40, No. 6, 2005, pp. 833–843. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4031658
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnonlinmec.2004.08.011 [34] Schenk, M., Viquerat, A. D., Seffen, K. A., and Guest, S. D., “Review of
[26] Yoshimura, Y., “On the Mechanism of Buckling of a Circular Cylindri- Inflatable Booms for Deployable Space Structures: Packing and Rigid-
cal Shell Under Axial Compression,” NACA TM-1390, 1955. ization,” Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 51, No. 3, 2014,
[27] Miura, K., and Tachi, T., “Synthesis of Rigid-Foldable Cylindrical pp. 762–778.
Polyhedral,” Journal of the International Society for the Interdiscipli- https://doi.org/10.2514/1.A32598
nary Study of Symmetry (ISIS-Symmetry), Gmünd, Austria, 2010, [35] Tsunoda, H., Senbokuya, Y., and Watanabe, M., “Deployment Charac-
pp. 204–213. teristics Evaluation of Inflatable Tubes with Polygon Folding Under
[28] Cai, J., Deng, X., Feng, J., and Zhou, Y., “Geometric Design and Airplane Microgravity Environment,” Space Technology, Vol. 25,
Mechanical Behavior of a Deployable Cylinder with Miura Origami,” Nos. 3–4, 2005, pp. 127–137.
Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 24, No. 12, Nov. 2015, Paper [36] Senda, K., Oda, T., Ohta, S., Igarashi, Y., Watanabe, A., Hori, T., Ito, H.,
125031. Tsunoda, H., and Watanabe, K., “Deploy Experiment of Inflatable Tube
https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/24/12/125031 Using Work Hardening,” 47th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures,
[29] Guest, S. D., “Deployable Structures: Concepts and Analysis,” Ph.D.
Downloaded by 46.252.46.1 on May 26, 2022 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/1.A34784