Non-local finite element model for rigid origami

Origami is an art transforming a flat sheet of paper into a sculpture. Among various types of origami, the focus is on a particular class called the `Rigid Origami' ("RO"). A Rigid Origami, unlike other forms, is not intended to be folded into fancy shapes. On the contrary, an RO has a simple and a geometrically well-defined crease pattern and does not have curved/smudged faces. The folds can be carried out by a continuous motion in which, at each step, each face of the origami is completely flat. As a result, these planar faces experience very minimal strain due to loading. This property allows it to be used to fold surfaces made of rigid materials. Tapping into the geometrical properties of RO will open a new field of research with great practical utility. Analyzing each new RO pattern will require generating numerous prototypes; this is practically impossible to do, as it consumes a lot of time and material. The advantages of Finite Element Analysis
umerical modeling become very clear in this scenario. A new design concept may be modeled to determine its real world behavior under various load environments and may, therefore, be refined prior to the creation of drawings, when changes are inexpensive. Since an RO undergoes a non-local deformation when subjected to a disturbance, the usage of conventional FEA will not produce accurate results. A non-local element model was developed which can be used in conjunction with the finite element package ABAQUS, via its user-defined element (UEL). This model was tested on two RO patterns, namely Miura-Ori and Ron Resch, by carrying out basic simulations. There are many other interesting origami patterns, exhibiting different meta-material properties, yet to be explored. This Finite Element Approach equips researchers with necessary tools to study those options in great detail.