A bistable composite tape-spring (CTS) structure is a thin-walled open slit tube with fibres oriented at ±45°, which is stable at both its extended and coiled configurations. The traditionally manufactured CTS is effectively self-deploying. Here, we devise a novel manufacturing method to tailor the deployable mechanism of a CTS. This is achieved through adjusting the internal stress levels by subjecting the fully coiled as-manufactured CTS samples to additional heat treatment process. Their deploying performance were then characterised through a bespoke axial load monitoring rig, in order to reveal the underlying mechanics. It is demonstrated three different deployable mechanisms can be manufactured based on the same CTS, namely self-deploying, neutrally stable and self-coiling CTS structures. The processed CTS samples also show specialised stabilities, varying from mono-stability to multi-stability. The tailoring mechanism is then proposed. Since the CTS sample is in a highly strained state when coiled, the polymeric composite material would slowly deform due to viscoelasticity. According to the time-temperature superposition principle, the custom heat treatment of a fully coiled tape is equivalent to acceleration of the viscoelastic deformation, where local stress relaxation occurs on both the outer and inner tape surfaces, which in turn altering the internal stress levels. Thereby, the heat treatment processing is able to tailor the deployable mechanism of the CTS structure. These enrich the deployment diversity of the CTS to better fit the requirements for various deployable mechanisms in order to further promote the applications of CTS structures to aerospace explorations.

双稳态复合带弹簧 (CTS) 结构是一种薄壁开缝管，其纤维取向为 ±45°，在其延伸和盘绕配置下均稳定。传统制造的 CTS 可以有效地自我部署。在这里，我们设计了一种新颖的制造方法来定制 CTS 的可部署机制。这是通过对完全卷曲的制造 CTS 样品进行额外的热处理过程来调整内部应力水平来实现的。然后通过定制的轴向载荷监测装置对它们的展开性能进行表征，以揭示潜在的力学。演示了基于相同的 CTS 可以制造三种不同的可展开机构，即自展开、中性稳定和自卷曲 CTS 结构。处理后的 CTS 样本还显示出特殊的稳定性，从单稳定性到多稳定性不等。然后提出了剪裁机制。由于 CTS 样品在卷绕时处于高度应变状态，因此聚合物复合材料会由于粘弹性而缓慢变形。根据时间-温度叠加原理，完全卷绕的胶带的定制热处理相当于加速粘弹性变形，在胶带内外表面都发生局部应力松弛，进而改变内应力水平。因此，热处理工艺能够定制CTS结构的展开机制。