An Investigation on Optimal Initial Self-Stress Design of Tensegrity Grid Structures

Abstract

To achieve the optimal feasible force density vector of a given geometry configuration tensegrity grid structure, an efficient procedure is presented for optimal initial self-stress design of tensegrity grid structures by consecutively solving two linear homogeneous systems in conjunction with a minimization problem. The nonlinear constrained optimization algorithm, known as the Interior-Point Method (I-PM), is utilized to obtain the minimal solution, leading to a set of force densities which guarantee the non-degeneracy condition of the force density matrix. The evaluation of the eigenvalues of tangent stiffness matrix is also introduced to check the geometric stability of the tensegrity grid structures. Finally, three numerical examples have been investigated comprehensively to prove the capability of the proposed method in optimal initial self-stress design of tensegrities. Furthermore, division of number of member group has been discussed in detail for the purpose of demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed method in seeking initial force densities of tensegrity grid structures.