Dynamic Analysis of Three Bar Tensegrity Structure under Compressive Load for Robotic Application

Abstract

Tensegrity structures which are comprised of bars and strings are very lightweight structures and they have the capability to deform and remain stable. For these properties they have been utilized in various fields of engineering for various purposes. One of the potential application of tensegrities is in the area of robotics. Three bar tensegrity is a basic unit structure, the dynamics of which can be utilized for tensegrity based robots. Due to its similar geometrical shape and easy control of strings, and by the application of inward compressive load, the movement of whole robot can be controlled. In this paper, the dynamics of three bar tensegrity structure has been studied under compressive load. The mathematical model for the structure has been built; and node matrix and connectivity matrix have been defined to describe the structure. The simulation has been performed on ADAMS software to analyze the movements of bar and deformation in strings under the effect of compressive load. All the strings have been grouped according to the similar deformation experienced by them. In addition to that, compression and twisting of top layer of the structure has been investigated. The obtained results provide the base for the construction of extremely lightweight robotic structure.