Chirality-induced tension–rotation coupling in cylindrical kirigami structures

Abstract Kirigami, a class of metamaterials composed of elastic sheets with periodic cuts, enables significant in-plane compliance through out-of-plane buckling. This study comprehensively investigates the mechanics and kinematics of chiral cylindrical kirigami structures, demonstrating the emergence of spontaneous rotational deformation under axial stretching. Experimental results reveal that the geometric constraints of the cylinder transform standard tension–torsion coupling into a macroscopic rotation in the absence of external torque. We develop a theoretical model that characterizes the relative rotation angle and Poisson’s ratio using a single kinematic variable: the opening angle of the parallel cuts. Finite-element simulations faithfully reproduce the experimental findings, capturing the progressive nature of the out-of-plane buckling. Notably, highly chiral structures exhibit a novel, spiral-like propagation of deformation along a helical path closely aligned with the cut orientation. The proposed chiral cylindrical kirigami structure is easy to fabricate and offers programmable rotation and auxetic behaviour through the precise control of structural chirality.