Transformable bending-active structures: manipulating elastic deformation in kinetic and rapidly assembled structures

In a dynamic context of rapidly evolving user needs, transformable structures anticipate and respond to changing demands in minimal time, with minimal effort. Innovative structural concepts should supplement the design of transformable structures to increase their structural and functional efficiency. Therefore, we defined transformable active bending as a combination of the principles of mobility and rapid assembly of transformable structures, and the utilisation of bending deformations in bending-active structures. Although it is the availability of state-of-the-art design modelling techniques and structural modelling tools that facilitate design exploration and form-finding of bending-active structures, accurate modelling of the complex relation between their geometry and bending behaviour remains challenging. This paper presents two principles for the design of transformable bending-active structures, respectively based on design for disassembly and deployability. Furthermore and illustrated by two case studies the paper introduces two digital modelling techniques. Further research on transformable bending-active structures will focus on their realisation and structural performance.