In spite of the presence of much research in the field of foldable structures whose applications have covered most of the requirements of academic and practical aspects of life, there is still a wide domain in which to undertake further studies. One of the required studies is to invest in foldable structures for the process of temporary accommodation. This study endeavours to find solutions for folding pyramidal shapes constructed from stiff panels that can be used as an upper part of temporary accommodation units, e.g., roofs. Several attempts have been made to find a mechanism that realises the folding of a three-dimensional pyramid. These attempts led to suggest a design that represents an initial solution for folding the pyramid. It was taken into consideration in this design that the structure should deploy strain free when the thickness of its panels is not considered. Trigonometry was used to find mathematical equations that can be used to identify the lengths and angles of the proposed design plates. These equations theoretically proved the validity of the proposed mechanism. The proposed design was applied to construct an actual model formed with thick panels. Considering the panel thickness of the model plates led to amendments and improvements to the proposed design. Two actual models were experimentally tested to make sure that they achieve the design concepts in the processes of full folding and deployment. The models were also tested in the laboratory to make sure of the integrity of the panel hinges and resistance of the elements to external loading. The model was constructed in a simulation program in order to verify the foldability of the design, folding efficiency and absence of strain or collisions during the process of folding and deployment at all stages.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:584340 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Khayyat, Hassan A. |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/54739/ |
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