MINIMAL MASS TENSEGRITY STRUCTURES

摘要

A unified framework for minimal mass design of tensegrity systems by convex optimization is presented. For any given configuration and any given set of external forces, we minimize mass subject to the equilibrium conditions and the maximum stress constraints. The answer is provided by a linear program. Stability is assured by solving a linear matrix inequality to guarantee a positive definite stiffness matrix. We first describe the static equation in matrix form, rather than vector form, to obtain the simplest structure of the equation.