Experimental study of developable cones

In this paper we investigate developable cones (d-cones) topology. From profilometer measurements, we found that for a sample of a finite thickness the singularity is never pointlike but has a form of a crescent. Measurements of the sheet local curvature revealed that the d-cone tip is rejected by a distance which characterizes the singularity size. High deformations of the d-cone lead to a plastic regime equivalent to a decrease in the singularity size characterized from curvature and profile analysis.