On Local Kirigami Mechanics I: Isometric Conical Solutions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the mechanics of kirigami structures by analyzing a simplified model of a thin disk with a slit, deriving closed-form solutions for the resulting conical shape and stress fields in the isometric limit.

Contribution

It provides a mathematical and mechanical analysis of the fundamental kirigami element, deriving explicit solutions and stability conditions for the e-cone shape in a nonlinear setting.

Findings

Derived closed-form stress and shape solutions for the e-cone.

Mapped the solution space and stability conditions.

Connected the geometry to the spherical elastica problem.

Abstract

Over the past decade, kirigami--the Japanese art of paper cutting--has been playing an increasing role in the emerging field of mechanical metamaterials and a myriad of other mechanical applications. Nonetheless, a deep understanding of the mathematics and mechanics of kirigami structures is yet to be achieved in order to unlock their full potential to pioneer more advanced applications in the field. In this work, we study the most fundamental geometric building block of kirigami: a thin sheet with a single cut. We consider a reduced two-dimensional plate model of a circular thin disk with a radial slit and investigate its deformation following the opening of the slit and the rotation of its lips. In the isometric limit--as the thickness of the disk approaches zero--the elastic energy has no stretching contribution and the thin sheet takes a conical shape known as the e-cone. We solve the post-buckling problem for the e-cone in the geometrically nonlinear setting assuming a Saint Venant-Kirchhoff constitutive plate model; we find closed-form expressions for the stress fields and show the geometry of the e-cone to be governed by the spherical elastica problem. This allows us to fully map out the space of solutions and investigate the stability of the post-buckled e-cone problem assuming mirror symmetric boundary conditions on the rotation of the lips on the open slit.