Affiliation:
1. J.A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University Cambridge MA 02138 USA
2. Department of Engineering King's College London London WC2R 2LS UK
3. Department of Mechanical Engineering Polytechnique Montreal Quebec H3T 1J4 Canada
Abstract
AbstractThe substantial deformation exhibited by hyperelastic cylindrical shells under pressurization makes them an ideal platform for programmable inflatable structures. If negative pressure is applied, the cylindrical shell will buckle, leading to a sequence of rich deformation modes, all of which are fully recoverable due to the hyperelastic material choice. While the initial buckling event under vacuum is well understood, here, the post‐buckling regime is explored and a region in the design space is identified in which a coupled twisting‐contraction deformation mode occurs; by carefully controlling the geometry of our homogeneous shells, the proportion of contraction versus twist can be controlled. Additionally, bending as a post‐buckling deformation mode can be unlocked by varying the thickness of our shells across the circumference. Since these soft shells can fully recover from substantial deformations caused by buckling, then these instability‐driven deformations are harnessed to build soft machines capable of a programmable sequence of movements with a single actuation input.
Funder
Division of Materials Research
Air Force Research Laboratory
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