Design and analysis of rigid-elastic coupling origami flashers with bistable characteristics

Origami flashers are frequently used in the design of deployable structures due to their large storage ratio and simple structure. However, origami flashers are not foldable without the flexible deformation of the structural components. On the other hand, conventional origami flashers could not be maintained in the deployed configuration with enough supporting stiffness because of the flexibility of the facets and creases, which limits their practical applications. By analyzing the mobility of the rigid origami flashers, we find that the origami flashers have a bistability-like property. Based on this, we propose a method to design rigid-elastic coupling origami flashers with bistable characteristics. The rigid-elastic coupling origami flashers consist of rigid facets, zero-stiffness creases, and elastic ropes. The bistable folding characteristics are analyzed by theoretical models, and demonstrated by numerical methods and experiments. Such bistable characteristics allow for the deployment of the origami with less energy consumption, while achieving greater supporting stiffness in the deployed configuration. The effect of different parameters on the dynamic performance is also investigated. A fabrication method of the novel system is proposed and verified by a physical prototype. The rigid-elastic coupling origami flashers facilitate their potential applications in space engineering.