Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures

Qiao, Zhiyu; Liu, Jitao; Fan, Minghao; Zhuang, Haifei; Wang, Xiangyu; Xu, Jiaying; Wang, Peng; Qin, Shaofeng; Wang, Teng; Li, Weiwen

doi:10.3390/ma19112293

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.

Open AccessArticle

Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures

by

Zhiyu Qiao

¹,

Jitao Liu

²,

Minghao Fan

¹,

Haifei Zhuang

¹

,

Xiangyu Wang

²,

Jiaying Xu

¹,

Peng Wang

^1,*

,

Shaofeng Qin

^1,3,*

,

Teng Wang

^1,4

and

Weiwen Li

¹

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University & China National Key Laboratory of Green and Long-Life Road Engineering in Extreme Environment (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518060, China

²

CSCEC Road and Bridge Group Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang 050011, China

³

Department of Civil Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

⁴

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2026, 19(11), 2293; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19112293

Submission received: 25 March 2026 / Revised: 22 May 2026 / Accepted: 26 May 2026 / Published: 28 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven Full Lifecycle Management of Infrastructures: From Advanced Cementitious Materials to Durable Structures)

Download Versions Notes

Abstract

The integration of multi-material 3D printing with origami engineering offers a promising avenue for deployable structures, but weak interfacial bonding between rigid and flexible phases remains a key limitation. This study first proposed four distinct hinge designs (enclosed, interlaced, inserted, and interlocked) for Miura-ori architectures, and subsequently investigated their mechanical behaviors with further elucidation of stress-transfer efficiency and interfacial failure modes under static tensile or compressive loading. Research outcomes identified the 5.0 mm interlaced hinge as the optimal interface design, improving stress distribution at the rigid–flexible interface and suppressing premature debonding. Notably, the dominant failure mode shifted from interfacial separation to ductile fracture within a TPU elastomer. Further research proves that increasing the embedment depth of the interlaced hinge from 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm can significantly increase fracture elongation from 100.8% to 342.4% while maintaining a stable peak tensile strength of approximately 12.5 MPa. At the structural scale, dual-material printed Miura-ori architecture exhibits better mechanical performance than single-material printed spatial counterparts (5163 N vs. 4019 N in compressive capacity, 18.7 mm vs. 8.0 mm in fracture elongation). These findings provide valuable insights into high-performance deployable structure design based on multi-material additive manufacturing.

Keywords: 3D printing; dual-material hinge; FRP Miura-ori structure; failure mechanism

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Qiao, Z.; Liu, J.; Fan, M.; Zhuang, H.; Wang, X.; Xu, J.; Wang, P.; Qin, S.; Wang, T.; Li, W. Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures. Materials 2026, 19, 2293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19112293

AMA Style

Qiao Z, Liu J, Fan M, Zhuang H, Wang X, Xu J, Wang P, Qin S, Wang T, Li W. Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures. Materials. 2026; 19(11):2293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19112293

Chicago/Turabian Style

Qiao, Zhiyu, Jitao Liu, Minghao Fan, Haifei Zhuang, Xiangyu Wang, Jiaying Xu, Peng Wang, Shaofeng Qin, Teng Wang, and Weiwen Li. 2026. "Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures" Materials 19, no. 11: 2293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19112293

APA Style

Qiao, Z., Liu, J., Fan, M., Zhuang, H., Wang, X., Xu, J., Wang, P., Qin, S., Wang, T., & Li, W. (2026). Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures. Materials, 19(11), 2293. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19112293

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Mechanics and Failure Mechanisms of Rigid–Flexible 3D-Printed FRP Miura-Ori Structures

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI