Research Projects

This proposal aims to develop technologies for modeling, designing, and fabricating deployable inflatable structures. Inflatable structures are attractive in engineering applications due to their high packaging efficiency, low mass, high load-bearing capacity, and simplicity of operation. The proposal aims to provide a toolkit for designing inflatable structures using rigorous mechanical principles, accurate numerical simulations, innovative sealing motifs for topographical/shape control, and detailed experimental validation with a lab-scale setup for fabrication. Inflatables have high packaging efficiency, low mass, large load-bearing capacity per unit weight of the material, design simplicity, and low susceptibility to risks such as depressurization. These features align with the criteria driving technologies aimed at supporting India's ambitions - faster, better, and cheaper. Applications of inflatables include domes, temporary habitats, furniture, and robotic applications. Controlled shape-morphable structures with pneumatic actuation can function like robots, allowing for varied roles. Challenges include choosing fabric-like materials like Kevlar, Mylar, and SpectraR, designing undeployed conformations, and planning deployment sequences. The proposed research focuses on accurately predicting equilibrium conformations of inflated structures and modeling their response to external loading. The focus is on systematically investigating mechanical models for inflatables and their predictive capabilities through numerical finite element simulations and experimental tests. The study will characterize the influence of sealing motifs on the behavior of the inflated structure.