Researchers use Japanese art of origami to solve space travel challenge; here's how

Researchers from the Washington State University have used the ancient Japanese art of paper folding to solve the challenge of travelling to outer space. The researchers developed an origami inspired folded plastic fuel bladder that stays intact even at extreme cold temperatures. It could be someday used for storing and pumping fuel. 

Origami used for space travel

Fuel management plays an important role in space travel as it mostly restricts space travels to either shorter trips for large amounts of cargo or to small satellites for long duration missions. The study was led by graduate student Kjell Westra and Jake Leachman, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and has been published in the journal Cryogenics. Talking about space travel projects, Leachman said “Folks have been trying to make bags for rocket fuel for a long time”. He added, “We currently don’t do large, long-duration trips because we can’t store fuel long enough in space”. 

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It was Westra who came across a paper using which researchers developed origami-based bellows. Westra and collaborators in the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research laboratory, using a thin sheet, decided to implement the design that can be used to make a fuel bladder. Westra said, “The best solutions are the ones that are already ready-made and that you can then transfer to what you’re working on”. He told that it took various tries and hours of watching the YouTube videos to finally come up with the folds. However once the fold was achieved, he took a liquid nitrogen test at about 77 degrees Kelvin. It was concluded that the bladder can be squeezed at least 100 times without breaking or leaking under cold conditions. 

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Talking about the same, Leachman said, “We think we’ve solved a key problem that was holding everybody back. We’re kind of excited about that”. He added, “Kjell’s success is a perfect example of great WSU students studying what’s out there and then being in the right place at the right time to make it happen”. The research was further supported by funds from Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation (JCATI) in collaboration with Blue Origin. Students Francis Dunne, Stasia Kulsa, and Mathew Hunt also made their contributions.

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(Image Credits: Unsplash)