Curved-Crease Origami Wrapping of Doubly Curved Shells Using Coupled Dynamic Relaxation

We introduce a novel method to generate curved-crease origami wrapping patterns on doubly curved surfaces. Coupled dynamic relaxation is used to co-evolve both the deployed and folded states to minimize elastic strain energy when folded, using the bar-and-hinge mechanical model to capture in-plane stretching and out-of-plane bending effects. A thin-shell parabolic surface can be compactly stowed according to fold patterns thus generated, with regions of continuous elastic bending. High-fidelity finite element simulations on an example structure are presented that validate the novel design method. A proof-of-concept test article was constructed that demonstrates damage-free folding and deployment.