Deployment of a Pentagonal "Hollow-Rope" Tensegrity Module

Tensegrity structures are spatial reticulated structures composed of cables and struts. Tensegrity systems are good candidates for adaptive and deployable structures and thus have applications in various engineering fields. A “hollow-rope” tensegrity system composed of tensegrity-ring modules has been demonstrated by the authors to be a viable system for a pedestrian bridge. This paper focuses on the deployment of pentagonal ring modules. A geometric study is performed to identify the deployment-path space allowing deployment without strut contact. Two actuation schemes are explored for deployment: the first scheme employs only actuated cables, while the second combines actuated cables with spring elements. In both schemes, continuous cables are used to reduce the number of actuators required. Finally, the structural response of the module during deployment is studied numerically using a modified dynamic relaxation algorithm.