Rigid-foldable spiral origami with compression-torsion coupled motion mode

•A rigid-foldable spiral origami with coupled compression-torsion is designed.•The spiral origami can self-lock at multiple positions, allowing it function as a mechanical diode.•The spiral origami under different magnitudes of impact can function as an acoustic transistor or a wave generator for either rarefaction or compressive solitary waves. Rigid foldable origami enables smooth and precise folding without stretching or bending its constituent panels and is promising for applications such as reprogrammable matter, self-folding machines, reconfigurable antennas, and deployable spacecraft. The diverse range of potential applications necessitates the need for the design and detailed analysis of different rigid-foldable origami structures, especially those with intricate motion modes. In this paper, we introduce a rigid-foldable spiral origami design that features a compression-torsion coupled motion mode. This design exhibits rich static and dynamic properties. Under static conditions, the compression-torsion coupled motion mode creates multiple self-locking positions and allows for the development of mechanical static diodes. Under dynamic conditions, the compression-torsion coupling effect in the spiral origami facilitates precise control of wave modes within the origami chain when impacted by a ball with a moderate initial velocity. In the case of large initial velocities of the ball, the spiral origami can function as a wave generator, producing rarefaction solitary waves or compressive solitary waves. The proposed spiral origami design provides an opportunity to explore new applications of rigid-foldable origami with compression-torsion coupling effects. [Display omitted]