Hierarchical Structural Analysis for the Multi-Folding Structures with Hill-Top Bifurcation Points

This paper reviews the theoretical basis for the dynamic numerical analysis to examine the elastic stability of the multi-folding microstructure(MFM) [1]. The analysis allows for geometrical non-linearity with localization based upon bifurcation theory [2]. Comparisons are made between experimental folding patterns and the patterns obtained from the numerical method in which bifurcations are demonstrated as elastic unstable behavior (e.g. [3]). We have obtained interesting bifurcation paths from the hill-top singular point on a diamond truss which is one of the folding multi-layered truss in a plane. The author suggest that the understanding of snap-through behavior for folding mechanics in 3D will be very useful for the development of lightweight structures subject to bifurcation of the hilltop branching type.