This paper presents a study of the folding of a new self-powered, self-latching tube hinge for deployable structures. This hinge is made by cutting three parallel slots in a thinwalled carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) tube, thus leaving three tape springs connecting the two ends of the tube.

Article history: Received 08.05.2012. Received in revised form 20.07.2012. Accepted 03.09.2012. Nowadays, fiber reinforced polymer materials are getting widely used in civil engineering. They have some advanced engineering characteristics like high stiffness-to-weight ratio, high strength-toweight ratio, anti-electromagnetic interference, electrical isolation and their long term durability. Met...

Glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) profiles are finding increasing applications in civil engineering structures, owing to the several advantages they offer over traditional materials. However, due to the combustible nature of their polymer matrix, there are well-founded concerns about their behaviour at elevated temperature and under exposure to fire. These concerns are hindering the widespr...