A folding and deployment strategy for infinite planes based on multi-hub chiral origami

Abstract

Folding an infinite plane based on origami principles poses a fundamental challenge, particularly in aerospace engineering, where efficient stowage and deployment of large-scale structures such as membranes and solar arrays are critical. The flasher pattern is widely used to achieve high storage efficiency in the stowed configuration. However, extending this folding strategy to structures with theoretically infinite surface area is problematic due to panel thickness. Addressing this, we propose a novel folding strategy based on the integration of multi-hub chiral origami, enabling the compact stowage of infinitely planar structures with finite thickness. To guide the assembly of individual chiral origami units, design rules are introduced and the area-to-volume ratios of the stowed and deployed configurations are examined. The deployment process is investigated through numerical simulations using both an origami simulation tool and a multibody dynamics approach. For verification, physical prototypes of both single-hub and four-hub chiral origami are fabricated and experimentally tested. The results demonstrate that the proposed multi-hub chiral origami approach offers an effective strategy for folding and deploying structures with theoretically infinite plane while accounting for finite thickness.