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From:
http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/advancedstructures/research.html
The anonymous website composer in 2013 writes:
"Advanced Shell Structures
"In recent years a lot of our work has focused on novel types of shell structures. By introducing a local texture pattern to thin-walled shells, it is possible to favourably change the global mechanical properties: textured shell structures. This may for example be used to introduce bending anisotropy to a previously isotropic material, which enables the design of bistable structures without using composite laminates.
"A natural extension of this work led to morphing shell structures. These shells are capable of undergoing large changes in shape, whilst remaining within the material's elastic range. Indeed, these structures often display a strong mechanistic component, and can equally well be referred to as compliant shell mechanisms. The flexibility is obtained through corrugations and fold lines in the shell surface, which often leads to unexpected coupling between different deformation modes. These shells require a new modelling approach, which captures the hierarchical interactions between global kinematics and local shell deformations. Interestingly, many of these structures can change their apparent global Gaussian curvature, whilst undergoing only bending deformation at material level.
"Examples include curved corrugated shells and folded shell structures. These folded sheets are either created using, or resemble, origami fold patterns. Here the purpose of the folding pattern is to impart both flexibility and stiffness to the material. It is the hierarchical combination of the opening and closing of the fold lines, and the developable deformations of the interlying material, that defines the mechanical properties of the shells."
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