Transformable active bending: a kinematical concept

Transformable structures facilitate reuse of components and structures by increasing the speed and ease of erection and lowering the stacking volume during transportation. Thanks to its unique ability to use structural members under different curvatures and return bent elements to their initial straight or planar geometry, active bending has the potential to expand the existing morphology of transformable structures. This paper discusses the development of such structural and kinematical systems on a theoretical level. First we will give a review of the existing systems for transformable and active-bending structures. By combining these, we have developed new kinematical systems of which three were selected for the scope of this paper: deployable grids, active bending kit-of- parts systems and pliable textile hybrids. These will be discussed in more detail and applied on a first design case, illustrating the potential applicability in a real case. The kinematical study shows the potential of active bending in transformable structures. Using elastic deformations lowers the complexity of the structures and can be actively used in the structural transformation. However, questions about the structural behaviour and technical detailing remain for future research.