Conceptual Model Study Using Origami for Membrane Space Structures

Some attempts to get efficient membrane space structure designs using various conceptual origami models are introduced, and their basic design considerations to fit their concepts to actual space structural hardware are presented. They cover cylindrical shell elements with axially buckled patterns for inflatable tubes, and deployable flat membrane structures for light weight large aperture spacecraft including their thickness effects and their various variations driven from geometrical dual properties. Some examples of deployable concepts in nature with reference to better designs of membrane space structures are also shown, and some limitations of their origami models are discussed.