Abstract: Origami principles for folding of thin sheets can create a variety of deployable, reconfigurable, and adaptable three-dimensional structures. Practical applications range from metamaterials and biomedical micro-robotics, to large-scale deployable architecture. This talk will present my group’s work in creating reduced order analytical models for simulating origami-inspired structures at multiple scales. The models are computationally efficient because they use a simplified bar and hinge framework to capture the geometry of the origami, yet they are capable of simulating kinematics, mechanics, and some multi-physical behaviors of the origami. The models can capture highly nonlinear behaviors including contact, multi-stability, active actuation, and electro-thermo-mechanical coupling. The talk will present scenarios of how we apply these tools to real world analysis and design problems. We simulate self-assembly of micro-robots, evaluate the stiffness-to-weight ratio in origami tubes, and explore the complex stiffness anisotropy in origami with curved creases.

Biography: Evgueni Filipov is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research interests are focused on the underlying mechanics of origami-inspired deployable and reconfigurable structures. These mechanics are employed to improve stiffness, functionality, and manufacturing of the folded systems. He holds MS and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has received the NSF CAREER Award (2020), the DARPA Young Faculty Award (2018), the Cozzarelli Prize from the National Academy of Sciences (2015), and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Learn more about his research at his lab’s website: http://drsl.engin.umich.edu/