12:15–1:30 pm
GCIS E223 929 E 57th St
From 2D to 3D with ribbons: Gridshells and Kirigami
How can a sheet that is initially flat deploy into three dimensions? This
transformation is only possible by stretching or contracting distances along a
surface. In practice, these metric modifications can be achieved by many
physical systems. We see two different shape morphing strategies. Grid shells
are made from thin, slotted strips merged to form a square mesh. When
forced out of the plane, the anisotropic strips strongly constrain the accessible
shapes. The variety of forms, characterized by the Gaussian curvature,
depends on the crossing angle, which can be perpendicular or oblique.
Kirigami cutting of a sheet allows a significant effective stretching of the
structure without stretching the material itself. Circular/closed cut patterns
make it possible to deploy complex shapes when a force is applied
transversely to the surface. We explore various ways of loading of both elastic
and plastic sheets
We envision predicting the architecture that will achieve a chosen target
shape.
Faculty Host: Tom Witten