Engineers at RMIT University have unveiled a groundbreaking tubular structural system that can be packed flat for easy transport and pop up into robust building materials.
This innovative design, inspired by curved-crease origami techniques, incorporates a self-locking mechanism that transforms the flat-pack tubes into strong, self-locked structures.
The tube design draws inspiration from bamboo’s internal structures, which provide natural reinforcement.
Dr Jeff Lee from RMIT‘s School of Engineering explains: “This self-locking system is the result of an intelligent geometric design.”
The system’s strength is impressive, with a panel weighing just 1.3 kg capable of supporting a 75 kg person.
Flat-pack tubes are already widely used in various fields, including:
- Biomedical devices
- Aerospace structures
- Robotics
- Civil construction
- Pop-up buildings for disaster recovery efforts
The new system enhances these applications by making the tubes quicker and easier to assemble, with the added benefit of automatic transformation into a strong, self-locked state.
Distinguished Professor Mike Xie highlights the potential for this innovation to improve existing deployable systems.
He cites NASA‘s solar array deployment as an example, suggesting that their new design could provide stronger structures for space applications.
The research team is committed to further improving the design and exploring new possibilities.
Their future plans include:
- Extending the self-locking feature to different tube shapes
- Testing tube performance under various forces
- Exploring new materials and manufacturing methods
- Developing self-deploying tubes for various applications
- Improving their smart algorithm for real-world adaptability
This origami-inspired innovation represents a significant advancement in structural engineering, offering potential benefits across multiple industries and applications.
The research has been published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The team of engineers includes Drs Hongjia Lu, Jiaming Ma, and Ngoc San Ha from RMIT’s School of Engineering, as well as Associate Professor Joseph Gattas from the University of Queensland.