On the design, elastic modeling and experimental characterization of novel tensegrity units

PSU Research Review

article

Zbigniew Bieniek¹  Ida Mascolo²  Ada Amendola³ 

[1]Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, University of Technology , Rzeszów, Poland

[2]Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno , Salerno, Italy

[3]Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno , Salerno, Italy ...Show all authors

关键词: Class theta tensegrity prism;    Lattice metamaterials;    Form-finding;    Prestress stability;    Path following;    Large displacements;   

DOI  :  10.1108/PRR-07-2018-0019

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Emerald Publishing

【 摘 要 】

Purpose This study aims to focus on a short review on recent results dealing with the mechanical modelling and experimental characterization of a novel class of tensegrity structures, named class θ = 1 tensegrity prisms. The examined structures exhibit six bars connected by two disjoint sets of strings. Design/methodology/approach First, the self-equilibrium problem of tensegrity θ = 1 prisms is numerically investigated for varying values of two aspect parameters and, next, their prestress stability is studied. The mechanical behavior of the examined structures in the large displacements regime under uniform compression loading is also numerically computed through a path-following procedure. Finally, the predicted constitutive response is validated through experimental tests. Findings The presented results highlight that the examined structures exhibit a large number of infinitesimal mechanisms from the freestanding configuration, and reveal that they exhibit tunable elastic response switching from stiffening to softening. Originality/value This multi-faceted elastic response is in agreement with previous literature results on the elastic response of minimal tensegrity prism, and suggests that such units can be usefully used as non-linear springs in next-generation tensegrity metamaterials.

【 授权许可】

CC BY