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University of Cambridge >  Department of Engineering >  Research >  Civil, Structural, Environmental and Sustainable Development
 

 

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Introduction

Deployable structures technologies are used for booms, solar arrays, and antennas on spacecraft; for portable shelters and retractable roofs;and for kinetic exhibition displays. In the past, these technologies have been developed by trial and error and for specific applications, but the current growing demand for deployable structures requires a new approach.The Deployable Structures Laboratory was founded by Prof Sergio Pellegrino in 1990 to develop new, generic solutions and to better understand the behaviour of existing deployable structures.

image Among the general results that we have obtained are folding conditions for two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures with "scissors"joints, packaging conditions for thin membranes, computational tools to identify singular configurations (kinematic bifurcations) along a deployment path, shape optimisation methods for variable geometry trusses. Recent advances in the computational modelling of multi-body systems have led to more accurate simulations of the folding and unfolding process. The best way to understand our work is by visiting our laboratory or by studying our publications .

We are active in many new fields, including Smart and Adaptive Structures, the use of piezoelectric and shape-memory alloy materials in structural actuators, and the design of special, geometrically bi-stable structures using composite materials. We have strong industrial links, particularly with the Aerospace Industry and the European Space Agency.

The international reputation of our laboratory as a centre of excellence in the field of deployable structures has been recognised by invitations to exhibit models of newly developed concepts at the exhibitions "Contemporary Developments in Design Science: Buckminster Fuller Centennial Exhibition"New York (1995-96); "Building for the Future" Istanbul (1996);and "Les Ingenieurs du Siecle" Paris (1997).


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