Tunable dynamics in Yoshimura origami by harnessing pneumatic pressure

Abstract

The unique merits of origami structures and origami metamaterials are the folding-induced shape reconfigurability and the associated evolution of mechanical properties. However, currently, there is a lack of mature solutions on how to achieve active tuning, and the tunability is stuck in static properties. Therefore, this study proposes a pneumatic scheme to overcome the above two bottleneck problems. Specifically, by integrating a pneumatic bladder with a monostable Yoshimura-ori structure, a pneumatic Yoshimura origami (PYO) cell is designed. Compared with the conventional approach making use of the origami multistability, the pressure scheme is simpler in design, more accurate in regulation, and richer in configurations. To exploit the PYO structure for tunable dynamics, the dynamic model is developed via a nonlinear system identification approach, in which the overall system, including the structure itself and the friction contact, is represented as a nonlinear spring-damper element, with the constitutive profile identified via the weighted least square method from the dynamic experimental data. Based on the developed model, the pressure tunability is then explored in a 6-cell PYO structure and a PYO metamaterial. Through comprehensive linear dispersion analyses and numerical simulations, we reveal that pressure could effectively tune the passbands of the 6-cell structure so that the transmission of vibration, at certain frequencies, can be qualitatively switched between amplification and attenuation; from another perspective, pressure could also be tailored for programming the stopbands of the PYO metamaterial to achieve the shift between propagation and prohibition. The results of this investigation could provide useful guidelines for the development of intelligent origami structures/metamaterials with excellent tunability, and meanwhile, open a new perspective of origami dynamics research.