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System energy models are important for energy optimization and management in mobile systems. However, existing system energy models are built in lab with the help from a second computer. Not only are they labor-intensive; but also they will…
Self-assembly is one of the most promising strategies for making functional materials at the nanoscale, yet new design principles for making self-limiting architectures, rather than spatially unlimited periodic lattice structures, are…
We introduce a new class of thin flexible structures that morph from a flat shape into prescribed 3D shapes without an external stimulus such as mechanical loads or heat. To achieve control over the target shape, two different concepts are…
Orthogonally assembled double-layered corrugated (OADLC) mechanisms are a class of foldable structures that harness origami-inspired methods to enhance the structural stiffness of resulting devices; these mechanisms have extensive…
We study the spontaneous folding of a 2D template of microscopic panels into a 3D pyramid, driven by thermal fluctuations. Combining numerical simulations and analytical calculations, we find that the total folding time is a non-monotonic…
Deploying distributed renewable energy at the demand side is an important measure to implement a sustainable society. However, the massive small solar and wind generation units are beyond the control of a central operator. To encourage…
In this paper, we study how to fold a specified origami crease pattern in order to minimize the impact of paper thickness. Specifically, origami designs are often expressed by a mountain-valley pattern (plane graph of creases with relative…
Recent advances in multistable metamaterials reveal a link between structural configuration transition and Boolean logic, heralding a new generation of computationally capable intelligent materials. To enable higher-level computation,…
The geometric, aesthetic, and mathematical elegance of origami is being recognized as a powerful pathway to self-assembly of micro and nano-scale machines with programmable mechanical properties. The typical approach to designing the…
We formulate, solve computationally and study experimentally the problem of collecting solar energy in three dimensions(1-5). We demonstrate that absorbers and reflectors can be combined in the absence of sun tracking to build…
Drop-on-demand inkjet printing is a promising and commercially relevant technology for producing organic electronic devices of arbitrary shape on a wide variety of different substrates. In this work we transfer the inkjet printing process…
It is known that silicon is an indirect band gap material, reducing its efficiency in photovoltaic applications. Using surface plasmons in metallic nanoparticles embedded in a solar cell has recently been proposed as a way to increase the…
We study an intriguing new type of self-assembled active colloidal polymer system in 3D. It is obtained from a suspension of Janus particles in an electric field that induces parallel dipoles in the particles as well as self-propulsion in…
Folding can transform mundane objects such as napkins into stunning works of art. However, finding new folding transformations for sheet materials is a challenging problem that requires expertise and real-world experimentation. In this…
This study introduces an innovative ventilation system, which leverages an origami-inspired structure to improve and regulate natural airflow driven by the stack effect, with applications in underground mines and buildings. The proposed…
Origami structures have been receiving a lot of attention from engineering and scientific researchers owing to their unique properties such as deployability, multi-stability, negative stiffness, etc. However, dynamic properties of origami…
In the framework of a strict mathematical approach based on classical theory of elasticity we present an idea of the deployment and stretching of the circular solar sail attached to the inflatable toroidal shell. It is predicted that by…
Thin elastic sheets bend easily and, if they are patterned with cuts, can deform in sophisticated ways. Here we show that carefully tuning the location and arrangement of cuts within thin sheets enables the design of mechanical actuators…
Several recently proposed semi--automatic and fully--automatic coarse--graining schemes for polymer simulations are discussed. All these techniques derive effective potentials for multi--atom units or super--atoms from atomistic…
The art and science of folding intricate three-dimensional structures out of paper has occupied artists, designers, engineers, and mathematicians for decades, culminating in the design of deployable structures and mechanical metamaterials.…