Practical folding meets measurable paper properties

This paper was motivated by recent activity to replace synthetic, daily-life consumer package solutions with cellulose-based materials and tailored applications. This investigation included a collection of 26 commercial paperboards. The main objective was to create foundations and increase common understanding for further scientific research in a highly interdisciplinary topic. Currently, the Miura-ori family is widely used in applied origami, being the most studied origami tessellation pattern due to its simplicity and remarkable properties. The folded samples were evaluated using qualitative ranking of the folding performance developed in this study and measuring the tensile properties of the materials. Four qualitative folding parameters were defined, and a numerical ranking was given for them. As a key result, the specific modulus of the materials seemed to correlate with the qualitative folding performance of the investigated materials. Therefore, the investigated Miura-ori folding can be assumed to be a “stiffness-driven” structure. Lastly, a finite element simulation was performed to assess whether the qualitative folding experience can be captured by numerical mechanics analysis by comparing two different boards. Simulations were able to identify that folding mechanics depend on the choice of orthotropic material orientation with respect to tessellation pattern, and therefore contributes to the qualitative folding experience.