[2016] Experimental analysis of a reverse elastica pop-up geometry

In International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering (pp. 1448-1453)

Pop-up mechanisms are able to generate complex forms from flexible planar materials. They have successfully been used for 3D micro scale engineering applications, but are not yet utilized for building-scale elements due to the difficulty of scaling planar actuation mechanisms. Separately, building elements formed with large, elastic bending deflections are widely used to for light weight and rapid assembly constructions. Commonly termed bending-active structures, their form utilises elastica geometries, which correspond to large bending deformations which have a minimum elastic potential energy.

This study explores a novel actuation system for large scale pop-up structures that uses a reverse (pre-fabricated) elastica geometry. Experimental analysis is conducted on specimens made from fibre-reinforced-polymers (FRP), to compare elastic force-displacement behaviours of normal and reverse elastica samples under cyclic loading. A concept pop-up structure is also built to show the reverse elastica actuation system in practice.