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On the impulsive dynamics of T3 tensegrity chains

  • Nonlinear Dynamics, Identification and Monitoring of Structures
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Abstract

Taking the cue from two recent papers, Fraternali et al. (J Mech Phys Solids 60:1137–1144, 2012), and Fraternali et al. (Appl Phys Lett 105:201903, 2014), we sample numerically the impulsive dynamics of chains consisting of T3 tensegrity modules. We concentrate on illustrating the effects of the kinetic coupling between axial strain and twist, a distinguishing feature of T3 modules that was switched off in the cited papers; in addition, we demonstrate by examples that another feature of T3 modules, their ‘handedness’, induces certain peculiar behaviors in chains made of both left-handed and right-handed modules. In our study, we consider a number of T3 chains, different in composition and subject to various end conditions.

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Notes

  1. The effect of various types of damping on a harmonically forced T3 has been analyzed in [11]. One of the findings is that, in small-amplitude motions, the dependence of damping on the cables’ rate of elongation is negligible, whereas the dependence on the angles’ rate of change is not. In [15], the same problem has been considered, although under different assumptions; nonlinear effects and regimes of chaotic motion have been observed, similar to those of a Duffing oscillator.

  2. Alternatively, one can use \(z_0\), \(\varphi _0\) and \(h_i\) \((i=1,N)\). In the latter case, Eq. (6)\(_2\) can be inverted to get \(\theta _i\) in terms of \(h_i\), and substitution in (6)\(_1\) yields the current length of each module as a function of the \(h_i\)’s.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Udine, Udine, Italy

    Cesare Davini

  2. Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Science Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Micheletti

  3. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Podio-Guidugli

  4. Department of Mathematics, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Podio-Guidugli

Authors
  1. Cesare Davini
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  2. Andrea Micheletti
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  3. Paolo Podio-Guidugli
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Correspondence to Andrea Micheletti.

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Dedicated to the memory of Francesco Benedettini.

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Davini, C., Micheletti, A. & Podio-Guidugli, P. On the impulsive dynamics of T3 tensegrity chains. Meccanica 51, 2763–2776 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-016-0495-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-016-0495-y

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