4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm

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1.INTRODUCTION
Park,Nottingham,NG72RD,England.Tel:+44(0)1159513134,Fax:+44(0)01159514879
e-mail:laxcmr@nottingham.ac.uk
2)Seniorlecturer,SchooloftheBuiltEnvironment,TheUniversityofNottingham.
ABSTRACT
ThispaperintroducestheSwivelDiaphragm:aninnovativetypeofretractableringstructureconstituted
straightandangulatedelements.Comparedtoothersimilarmechanismsforexample,RetractablePlates
Deployable Reciprocal Frames, the Swivel Diaphragm can offer the additional advantages of pure
rotationalmotionaroundfixedexternalsupports,simplicityofcomponentsandthepossibilityofdifferent
designsthatemploythesamenumberandtypeofelements.Inaddition,thispaperevaluatesthepotentialof
deployablegridsusingmodulesoftheSwivelDiaphragm.
Over the last three decades dynamic structures have gained increasing popularity because of their
capabilityformovementthatinspiresdesignersandcreatesastructuralchallengeforengineers.Thereare
many types of mechanisms that fall into this category. Therefore, regarding practical issues, these
structureswillbeclassifiedhereintotwomaingroups:portablestructuresandtransformablestructures.
Portablestructuresareidealfortemporaryarchitecture;theyareeasytoerect,dismantle,transportand
store.Ofthedynamicstructures,portablestructuresarearguablythemostexploredandstudied.Particular
attentionhasbeenpaidtodeployable/unfoldingsystems,oneofthesubcategoriescharacterizedbyusing
scissors-like-elementsasaprincipalmodule.ResearcherssuchasPerezPiero[1],PerezValcarcel[1],
Escrig[1,2], Ziegler[3], Hernandez and Zalewski [4], and Gantes[5] have developed several projects
employingthesesimplemechanisms.Incontrast,transformablestructuresareidealfor'smart'buildings,
whichareinpermanentmovement,whileremainingwithinafixedboundary.Theyareabletorespondto
external or internal changing conditions through the metamorphosis of their components. Projects
employingthesecharacteristicshavemadeuseofdifferenttechnologytoachievemotion.Calatrava[6]for
example,hasdesignedexceptionaldynamicframesusinghydraulicmechanisms.TheKineticDesign
Group[7]haveproposedinnovativeideasfortransformablebuildingscontrolledbycomputersystems.
WhileHoberman[8],theDeployableStructuresLaboratory(DSL),TheUniversityofCambridge,[9-11]
Chilton[12] havedevelopedcreativemechanicalsystemsforretractablestructuresemployingbars,plates
andhinges.Particularfeaturesofthiskindofretractablesystemwillbeanalysedinthispaperandanew
systemcalledSwivelDiaphragmwillbepresented.
2.COMPARISONBETWEENRETRACTABLEPLATESANDDEPLOYABLERECIPROCAL
PLATES
AlthoughRetractablePlatesandDeployableReciprocalPlatesachieveasimilaroutcomeforretractable
rings, they work with two very different kinetic mechanisms. In this paper, both systems are briefly
comparedintermsofgeometry,numberandcharacterofcomponentsandtypeofdeployment.This
comparisonwillhelpthereadertounderstand thepotentialattributesoftheSwivelDiaphragm.
RetractableplatestructureswerefirstproposedbyHoberman[8]andhavebeenstudiedindetailatthe
DeployableStructuresLaboratoryatTheUniversityofCambridge[9-11].Asthehexagonalexample
showninfig1displays,twolayersofplateslinkedtoeachotherbyhingesconstitutethem.Thehingesactas
simplepivotswhichmakethemrelativelyeasytobuildandmaintain.Thestrut-angle a formedbetween
2.1RetractablePlateStructures

4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm
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eachsetofhinges:E,DandC,iscrucialtodefinethepolygonalshapeachievedwhentheringisfully
closed.Thisstrut-anglecanbecalculatedusingthefollowingsimpleequation:
Strut-anglea=1808 -(3608/number of sides of the polygon) (1
u
InnerhingesA
Finalpolygon
D
C
A
S
r C
r
DE
r
A
OuterhingesC
HingesD
Deployableplate
a
Strut-angle a
u
0. 1. 3. 4. u=608
u=488
u=248 u=128
u u
u
u u
2. u=368 5. u=08
Fig.1.Hexagonalringwithretractableplatestructure
Thepositionofthehingesvariescontinuallyduringtheexpansionfollowingradialstraightlines,ascan
seeninFig.2(a).Moreover,eachtypeofhinge(A,C,D)demonstratesadifferentbehaviour,fig.2(b).
Having a central point S as reference, the radius r , r and r decrease or increase gradually
A D C
proportionallytotheangleofdeploymentu.Asaconsequence,theperimeteroftheringvariespermanently
duringtheretractionmakingitdifficulttohavefixedexternalsupports.TosolvethisproblemKassabian
andPellegrino[11]haveproposedawaytoholdthestructureupinfixedpoints.However,thissolution
impliestheuseofextrahingesthathavetobeplacedwithintheinternalareacoveredbythering.This
conditionaddscomplexitytothemechanismandreducesthefreeinternalspaceofthestructure.
Hinges
Hinges
Hinges
u=08
u=608
u=488
u=368
u=248
u=128
a
1
=

r r r = radiustothejointsA,C,D
A C D
min.r
A
min.r
c
min.r
D
max. r &r
A D
max.r
C
Fig2..Diagramsofthehingestrajectoryinahexagonalretractableplatestructure
1
2
3
4 5
S
1./4
2/3
1
2
3
4
5
0
TrajectoryofhingesC
Polygonbase,initialstate
TrajectoryofhingesA
TrajectoryofhingesD
Axisofmovement
4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm
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Thenumberofplatesandjointsinaretractableplatestructuredependsonthenumberofsides n ofthe
polygonbase.Itcanbecalculatedusingthefollowingequations:
n*2 = No. plates (2
n*3 = No. joints (3
n*4=No.joints(Includingadditionalfixedsupports) (4
2.2 DeployableReciprocalPlateStructures
ChiltondescribesstructuresofDeployableReciprocalPlatesinref.[12].Thissystemusestriangularrigid
platesthatslideagainsteachotherleavingnogaps,asillustratedinthehexagonalexampleoffig3.
Finalpolygon
VertexC
VertexD
VertexA
Deployableplate
D
A
C
r
D
r
A
Joint-rail
Reciprocal
framebasis
r
c
A
C
B
D
A
C
B D
0. u=608 1. u=488
u u
2. u=368 3. u=248
A
C
B
D

u
A
C
B
D
u
A
C B
D
5.u=08 4. u=128
A
C
B
D
u u

TrajectoryofvertexA
TrajectoryofvertexB
VertexA
VertexB
VertexD
u=08
u=248
u=128

max. r &r
A B
max.r
D
S
TrajectoryofvertexD
Polygonbase,initialstate
Fig.3.Hexagonalringwithdeployablereciprocalplatestructure
4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm
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1
3
4
2
5
1
2
3
4
5
TrajectoryofvertexA
a)
b)
u=608
u=488
u=368
a
1
=

r rr= radiustothejointsA,C,D
A C D
min.r
A
min.r andr
C D
S
Fig4..Diagramsofthehingestrajectoryinahexagonaldeployablerecioprocalplatestructure
4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm
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4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm
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4/22/12 Swivel Diaphragm
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