Using origami to design spaceship fuel bladders
Capitalism in space: Engineers at Washington State University have developed a new design for a collapsible fuel bladder for spaceships using as its basis the Japanese art of origami.
Washington State University researchers have used the ancient Japanese art of paper folding to possibly solve a key challenge for outer space travel – how to store and move fuel to rocket engines. The researchers have developed an origami-inspired, folded plastic fuel bladder that doesn’t crack at super cold temperatures and could someday be used to store and pump fuel.
The advantages of a fuel tank that will shrink as it empties are numerous. It appears that nothing that has been tried so far has worked as well as this new design. If proven viable, it will change radically how interplanetary spaceships are designed. It will also make interplanetary missions more practical.
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Capitalism in space: Engineers at Washington State University have developed a new design for a collapsible fuel bladder for spaceships using as its basis the Japanese art of origami.
Washington State University researchers have used the ancient Japanese art of paper folding to possibly solve a key challenge for outer space travel – how to store and move fuel to rocket engines. The researchers have developed an origami-inspired, folded plastic fuel bladder that doesn’t crack at super cold temperatures and could someday be used to store and pump fuel.
The advantages of a fuel tank that will shrink as it empties are numerous. It appears that nothing that has been tried so far has worked as well as this new design. If proven viable, it will change radically how interplanetary spaceships are designed. It will also make interplanetary missions more practical.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Your support is even more essential to me because I keep this site free from advertisements and do not participate in corrupt social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
You can provide that support to Behind The Black with a contribution via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
What a great read.
Simple solution to a complex problem.
Not an easy solution, but a simple one.
Should this technology pan out, it should make orbital propellant depots more viable; however, I’m sure the “We must build super monster rockets” crowd will have negative things to say about that.
Not easy, no. But I think this is the kind of problem domain that benefits from research in widely different areas. I mean, in terms of moving up the technology readiness level (TRL), it seems we’re still taking baby steps. The recent award to SpaceX to transfer fuel by the tonne is great. It is one approach–small thrust produces small acceleration, settles the liquids. But maybe a tank with a built-in piston could compress the origami bladder.
I also like this quote; there’s a lot of engineering truth to it:
“The best solutions are the ones that are already ready-made and that you can then transfer to what you’re working on,” Westra said.
Go Cougs!
on a related note:
DeepMind solves protein folding problem: AlphaFold V. 2
Lex Fridman, December 2, 2020
https://youtu.be/W7wJDJ56c88
16:41
Kyle,
I am willing to bet they will not “Coug it” at the end!
wyane
Great protein folding link.
Regarding origami, I recall a similar issue where the Japanese designers used origami for an expanding framework to support a solar array.
https://www.origami-resource-center.com/origami-science.html
Much later, I worked with a fellow who was folding cranes for his wedding. As I recall, he had to fold up 100 of them, or was it 1,000 ?
Ah well, his fingers were sore.
Alex-
You would probably enjoy a lot of the people & topics Lex Fridman covers. (He’s an artificial-intelligence genius.)