Static Analysis on Some Typical Tensegrities with Additional Cables
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
Adding redundant cables to tensegrity structures is an inevitable requirement for the engineering application of this type of structure. Here we investigated the form-finding and stability of several typical classes of tensegrities with additional cables. An energy minimization–based form-finding method was presented and validated by the analytical solutions developed for prismatic and antiprismatic tensegrities. Some new multistable configurations of typical tensegrities were identified by the proposed algorithm, which demonstrates the robustness of the present form-finding method. It can be revealed from the present analysis that the stability and mechanical properties of the tensegrities with additional cables depended both on the number and the method of adding cables. The stiffness of the antiprismatic tensegrity increased with the increase of the number of additional cables and the reduction of the natural length of the additional cable. But for a more general case, the resistance to deformation of the tensegrity could not always be increased by increasing the number of additional cables. Additional cables could improve the possibility of obtaining more equilibrium states of the tensegrity, but the stability of those equilibrium states was not guaranteed. The transition between two stable self-equilibrated states of a tensegrity could be achieved by just reducing the length of additional cables.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11572137).
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Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • March 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2021
Accepted: Sep 29, 2021
Published online: Dec 23, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2022
Discussion open until: May 23, 2022
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