EFRI-ODISSEI: Mechanical Meta-Materials from Self-Folding Polymer Sheets

这个新兴前沿研究与创新（EFRI）折纸设计工程创新（ODISSEI）奖的研究目标是开发自折叠聚合物片材作为新的机械超材料的平台，利用折纸原理提供高度可调的机械响应。这项研究结合了物理化学，物理学，折纸数学和艺术表现，以开发模块化的折纸组件，如折叠和顶点，它们被组装成更复杂的折叠结构。理论工具将被开发来预测折叠模式的机械性能，这些将通过与微加工结构的测量进行比较来验证。这项研究还探索了新的折纸图案，将曲率和形状融入折纸曲目，以激发新的艺术成就。如果成功，我们将生产出新的聚合物材料，其静态力学性能可以在广泛的行为范围内进行调整，并且可以动态弯曲和折叠。因为我们将开发的理论工具也将广泛适用于任何材料，其膨胀和收缩可以对刺激做出反应，我们希望我们的研究在许多行业具有广泛的适用性，从包装材料到人工组织到致动器。这项工作将培训本科生、研究生和博士后学生，并通过出版物、会议和讲习班传播，讲习班将汇集ODISSEI的其他团体、科学家、折纸艺术家和数学家。它还将有助于在西部新英格兰大学的教师培训计划，使用折纸作为一种动手的方式来教数学和材料科学的K-12学生，和戏剧表演目前正在编写。制作的艺术原型和模型将成为科学博物馆巡回展览的一部分。该项目部分由空军科学研究办公室资助。

The research objective of this Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Origami Design for the Integration of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation (ODISSEI) award is to develop self-folding polymer sheets as a platform for new mechanical meta-materials that take advantage of origami principles to provide highly tunable mechanical responses. This research combines physical chemistry, physics, origami mathematics and artistic expression to develop modular, origami components, such as folds and vertices, which are assembled into more complex folding structures. Theoretical tools will be developed to predict the mechanical properties of fold patterns, and these will be validated by comparison to measurements on micro-fabricated structures. This research also explores new origami motifs by incorporating curvature and shape into the origami repertoire to inspire new artistic achievements.If successful, we will produce new polymer materials whose static mechanical properties can be tuned over a wide range of behaviors, and which can buckle and fold dynamically. Because the theoretical tools we will develop will also be broadly applicable to any material whose expansion and contraction can be made to respond to a stimulus, we expect our research to have broad applicability in many industries ranging from packing materials to artificial tissues to actuators. The work will train undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students and be disseminated through publications, conferences and a workshop that will bring together other ODISSEI groups, scientists, and origami artists and mathematicians. It will also contribute to a teacher-training program at Western New England University to use origami as a hands-on way to teach mathematics and material science to K-12 students, and a theatrical performance currently being written. The artistic prototypes and models produced will be part of a traveling exhibit for science museums.This project is supported in part by funds from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.