The flexural mechanics of creased thin strips

Journal article

Many structures in Nature and Engineering are dominated by the influence of folds. A very narrow fold is a crease, which may be treated with infinitesimal width for a relatively simple geometry; commensurately, it operates as a singular hinge line with torsional elastic properties. However, real creases have a finite width and thus continuous structural properties. We therefore consider the influence of the crease geometry on the large-displacement flexural behaviour of a thin creased strip. First, we model the crease as a shallow cylindrical segment connected to initially flat side panels. We develop a theoretical model of their coupled flexural behaviour and, by adjusting the relative panel size, we capture responses from a nearly singular crease up to a full tape-spring. Precise experiments show good agreement compared to predictions.

Authors: Walker, M; Seffen, K

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: International Journal of Solids and Structures
• Volume: 167
• Issue: 1 August 2019
• Pages: 192-201
• Publication date: 2019-03-14
• Acceptance date: 2019-03-13
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2019.03.016
• ISSN: 0020-7683
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR