Bilayered Smart Driving Mechanics of a Bistable Composite Tape‐Spring Structure

ABSTRACT Bistable composite tape‐spring (CTS) structures are favoured for space deployable applications owing to their self‐latching ability; however, their actuation often relies on heavy, complex mechanical systems. To overcome this, we have established a smart driving strategy using integrated smart materials to enable efficient, remote morphing, where a bilayered intelligent structure comprises an active smart‐material layer and a passive, antisymmetric CTS layer. An analytical model was developed to predict structural bistability and map the shape‐changing process via minimum strain energy paths. This framework characterizes how stimulus‐induced strain in the active layer applies an equivalent bending moment to drive the CTS. Key design criteria are quantified: the CTS must operate within specific moment boundaries and the active layer must not exceed a critical thickness to ensure bistable snapping. Furthermore, the required actuation strain is shown to decrease predictably with increasing active layer thickness, with analytical predictions showing a mean error of 6.0% against numerical results. These results provide definitive guidelines for designing smart, bistable morphing structures. Consequently, this work contributes a foundational model and clear material‐geometric criteria to facilitate the development of lightweight, low‐complexity, and energy‐efficient smart deployable structures for aerospace applications.