The evolutionary mechanism of unit cell: Parameterizations of polyhedron sandwich structure based on rigid origami

Abstract

As the advantages of foldable or deployable structures are being discovered, research into origami engineering has attracted more focus from engineers. With computer aided design and parameterized modeling techniques, some computational origami design methods have been developed. Most of these methods focus on the problem of origami crease pattern design—the problem of determining a crease pattern to realize a specified origami final shape, but do not provide computational solutions to actually developing a shape that meets some design performance criteria. This paper presents a parameterization method of unit cell for N-1 type base patterns. Then, a computational design method of polyhedron sandwich structure is proposed and the polyhedron sandwich structure will be designed to satisfy geometric, functional, and foldability requirements. All parameterizations are validated by comparison with physical prototypes and compiled into a MATLAB Toolbox for subsequent work.