On the snap-back behavior of a self-deploying antiprismatic column during packing

This paper deals with the axial folding of an antiprismatic self-deployable mast rendered packable by stretchable hoop strut circles. The main novelty pertains to an interesting kinematic-mechanical softening phenomena, related to the serial connection of packable segments. The softening in this case occurs as the consequence of geometric instabilities arising during force controlled packing sequence. The typical equilibrium path in the mast packing sequence is characterized by a snap-back phenomenon. Moreover, internal snap-back of the structure occurs even with a smooth displacement control at the top nodes. The snap-back phenomena of this kind are here studied analytically for a simpler case of a single element and also by using numerical simulations for more complex case of the complete deployable structure.

► The force–displacement diagram of the antiprismatic mast was derived.
► The typical packing path is not uniform, the segments close in a random order.
► The serial connection of softening units leads to a snap-back phenomenon.
► Packing the mast by end compression manifests multiple internal snap-through points.
► Smooth packing of the mast needs multi-controlled packing.