Hexagonal ring origami—Snap-folding with large packing ratio
Hexagonal and hexagon-based structures are widely seen in nature and inspire various engineering designs by demonstrating capabilities of tessellating complex two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) assemblies. While enabling functionality at the deployed state, folding hexagonal structures to a greatly reduced area or volume allows for space-saving for transportation. In this work, we use finite element analysis to systematically investigate how geometric parameters, loading locations, and loading methods affect the foldability and stability of hexagonal rings.