A classification of singly curved deployable scissor grids

Deployable scissor structures can easily and repeatedly undergo swift transformations between a compact and an expanded state, making them fit for a broad range of architectural applications. Throughout the years, a myriad of different scissor grid configurations have been proposed for a variety of geometries. The available documentation on these configurations is scattered across many different publications and is often incomplete or not explored to the full, which makes any form of comparison or evaluation a difficult task. Therefore, we have started to collect and complete this information in order to obtain a full overview of the geometrical possibilities of deployable scissor structures and their corresponding kinematical behaviour. This paper presents this overview for deployable scissor grids with single curvature, since singly curved surfaces comprise many useful shapes, e.g., the barrel vault. The different scissor grid configurations are classified according to the geometry of their grid cells and listed along with other relevant parameters regarding the scissor units, the scissor grid and its kinematical behaviour. As such, this classification table forms a handy tool for designers to efficiently compare and assess the different configurations and their fitness for the desired application. It will be extended in future research to include other geometries as well.