On local kirigami mechanics I: Isometric conical solutions

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.

Automated summary

Kirigami, the Japanese art of paper cutting, has been increasingly important in mechanical metamaterials and other mechanical applications. However, a deeper understanding of its mathematics and mechanics is needed to fully unleash its potential in advanced applications. This study focuses on the fundamental geometric structure of kirigami and investigates the deformation of a thin sheet with a radial slit in a circular disk, revealing interesting geometric properties and mechanical behavior.