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| A paper arc deformed such that a developable cone has formed (highlighted by the circle). The flimsy paper cannot hold up the steel bolt, however, when crumpled up it can easily hold the bolt. The key question is how and why we get strength from a collection of bends in the paper. |
Today we have just been notified that we will receive a grant through the prestigious Young Investigator Research Program of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research! This is fantastic news, not only because of the attention we will receive, but because it will allow us to do some really exciting research! The proposal is centered on investigating how single and multiple bends in a thin film interact with one another, cause damage and/or lead to increased material strength in complex folded objects such as origami and crumpled materials. The big details are in how the material of the film responds (stretches, yields, or fractures) as it takes on the desired structure. The fundamental work we can now do will allow engineers to have a much better set of design guidelines when creating functional and lightweight origami based structures.
see the Air Force
press release for more information.
