Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
280207 | International Journal of Solids and Structures | 2006 | 16 Pages |
A numerical method is presented for form-finding of tensegrity structures. Eigenvalue analysis and spectral decomposition are carried out iteratively to find the feasible set of force densities that satisfies the requirement on rank deficiency of the equilibrium matrix with respect to the nodal coordinates. The equilibrium matrix is shown to correspond to the geometrical stiffness matrix in the conventional finite element formulation. A unique and non-degenerate configuration of the structure can then be obtained by specifying an independent set of nodal coordinates. A simple explanation is given for the required rank deficiency of the equilibrium matrix that leads to a non-degenerate structure. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the robustness as well as the strong ability of searching new configurations of the proposed method.