Spline-based and stress-monitored patterning of fabric structures

The shape of tensioned fabric structures is realised via a process of patterning, which involves ‘flattening’ of sections, or panels, of a 3D membrane, onto a plane. The patterning method proposed here uses bicubic spline descriptions of surfaces undergoing flattening, followed by elastic analysis of strains arising from this process and from membrane pre-stress. The results, which ensure stress compatibility along panel edges, produce a cutting pattern and stress variation within it when the panel is assembled into the 3D form. They confirm a general relationship between panel width and stress deviation from the intended pre-stress reported in .