An exact dimension-reduced dynamic theory for developable surfaces and curve-fold origami

Abstract: Curve-fold origami, composed of developable panels joined along a curved crease, exhibits rich dynamic behaviors relevant to metamaterials and soft robotic systems. Despite multiple approximated models, a comprehensive and exact dynamical theory for curve-fold origami remains absent, limiting the precise predictions of its dynamics, especially for those with wide panels. In this work, we develop an exact dimension-reduced theory that focuses on the dynamics of curve-fold origami, utilizing the intrinsic one-dimensional nature of developable surfaces. Starting from a single developable surface, we investigate the kinematics and kinetic energy of a moving developable surface. By overcoming the difficulty of describing the motion of local frames, we derive the exact velocity field of wide surfaces solely described by the motion of the reference curve, which leads to the kinetic energy of the entire surface. Owing to the one-dimensional feature, the Lagrangian of the system, composed of both kinetic and elastic energy, is a functional of the reference curve. Thus, we may variate the Lagrangian and derive a nonlinear dynamical theory for the reference curve, which comprises governing equations similar to the rod model but can precisely describe the motion of developable surfaces. The theory is validated consistently in both Lagrangian and Eulerian frameworks and is further extended to curved-fold origami modeled as a coupled bi-rod system. Utilizing our exact 1D model, we theoretically analyze the dynamical behaviors of various developable structures, revealing that the coupling of curvature and torsion along with the motion of local frames in our theory leads to the accurate modeling of arbitrarily deformed developable surfaces, which are validated by finite element analysis quantitatively.