Design and analysis of an origami-embedded multi-stable metastructure with shape reconfiguration

Multi-stable metastructures possess the ability to shape and function on demand or environmental changes, which has promising applications in the development of shape-reconfigurable structures. However, the steady-state characteristics of multi-stable structures typically remain unaltered after fabrication. In this paper, a combined multi-stable structure (CMS) with shape reconfigurable function is designed, which consists of symmetric curved beams embedded Kresling origami. The CMS steady-state characteristics are tuned by coupling the snap-through energy barrier of the steady-state of both Kresling origami and the curved beam. Firstly, the tri-stable characteristics of Kresling origami are analyzed using a truss model, and the force-displacement relation is also obtained by experiments. Then, a reverse design method for B-spline curved beams is proposed, leading to a bi-stable curved beam model within the CMS. The mechanical properties and feasibility of multi-stable tuning for the CMS are analyzed by experiments and numerical simulations. Finally, the metastructure of the arrayed CMS is designed, and a predicting method for the rotation angle in the rotational multi-stable is introduced. The multi-stable metastructures are fabricated using 3D-printing technology, and the functions of multi-stable tuning and multi-directional reconfigurable deformation are validated. These results offer new insights and references for the design of shape-reconfigurable structures.