Folding solar panels in space: Miura-ori and its kinematic behavior

Abstract

Solar panels are made by absorbing Sunlight , which will Solar radiation energy through Photovoltaic effects or Photochemical effects directly or indirectly into Electrical energy to a device that is the central part of a solar power system and is often used in spacecraft. Spacecraft allow for large energy requirements, and solar panels require a larger area to meet the spacecraft's needs. Origami is an ingenious solution to this problem by reducing the size of solar panels needed for launch by specific folding methods, such as Miura-ori, which is a rigid origami paper in which each parallelogram remains unbent and flat during the smooth unfolding of the paper. Therefore, this paper investigates the geometric configuration and kinematic behaviour of Miura-ori based on Miura-ori units with rigid folding properties.