Near Equilibria Static Analysis of a Helical Folded Tube

Permanent creases on thin-walled objects are imprinted lines on which there is local plastic deformation. Geometrically constrained creases are often leveraged as multi-stable elements with applications in various fields, including robotic actuators, energy storage and release, and meta-materials. Using curved creases, instead of straight ones, increases the design space and thus can lead to better engineering solutions. A single helical crease, located around a long tube (hereafter HFT), can replace a highly complex triangulated crease pattern composed of multiple straight crease lines. This drastically simplifies both fabrication and actuation, while maintaining the functionality of such structures. The aim of my analysis is to model the near-equilibrium mechanical behavior of such helical folded tubes.