Stiffness of three-bar tensegrity structure

Abstract

PurposeIn this paper, the main factors influencing the structure stiffness will be analyzed by studying the tangent stiffness matrix based on different requirement in engineering practice. The authors can obtain the deformation of three-bar tensegrity basic unit in different load, and gain the primary factor by comparing the deformation, which will provide reference to concrete structure design in the engineering.Design/methodology/approachThe mathematical model of tensegrity structure was built by establishing generalized node coordinates and connective matrix. Three main factors that affect the structure deformation can be obtained by analyzing the stiffness matrix, which is preload, Young's modulus, and cross-sectional area, the thinking of deformation also be sorted out. The deformation analysis of the concrete structure is carried out, and it is concluded that increasing the cross-sectional area can quickly improve the stiffness of the structure, which provides a reference for the structural variable stiffness design in practical engineering.Findings(1) When the axial external force is applied to the structure, the torsion-angle deformation of the structure is the largest, and the radial deformation of the structure is the smallest. (2) The structure stiffness can be rapidly enhanced by increasing the cross-sectional area. But the cross-sectional area can't be increased indefinitely. Because the mass will be increased once increasing the cross-sectional area, which will destroy the structure of the advantages of light weight in engineering practice.Originality/valueThe deformation analysis of the concrete structure is carried out, and it is concluded that increasing the cross-sectional area can quickly improve the stiffness of the structure, which provides a reference for the structural variable stiffness design in practical engineering.

A resource-efficient form-finding approach to tensegrity structures

“…The tensegrity structures consist of bars (struts) and strings (cables) connected at a point known as the joint (Skelton and De Oliveira, 2009). Those structural elements are uniaxially loaded, where they carry only compression and tension, respectively (Vumiliya et al, 2021;Luo et al, 2023). The shape finding of tensegrity structure has been extensively researched, where different methods and algorithms have been suggested, such as an intuitive method presented by Motro (1992), for regular structures but inapplicable to complex tensegrity structures, and an analytical method was also developed (Koohestani, 2017;Gomes, 2007;Zhang et al, 2018) that was able to overcome the complexity of the structure by using the matrix manipulations to satisfy the relationship between the selfstress required for stable structures.…”

“…Those structural elements are uniaxially loaded, where they carry only compression and tension, respectively (Vumiliya et al. , 2021; Luo et al. , 2023).…”