HALO: Interactive Equilibrium Approach in Designing Tensegrity Hollow-Rope Structures

Abstract

Tensegrity is a stable self-equilibrated spatial structure composed of isolated members in compression inside contiguous tensioned components. The tensegrity hollow-rope modules can be implemented in the Architecture–Engineering–Construction (AEC) field, such as in the design of towers and bridges. Although some research is conducted based on tensegrity form-finding and structural analysis, finding the optimal form of these systems is a complicated task in terms of its geometrical complexity and nonlinear behavior. In this research, using a modified force density algorithm, a fully parametric approach is developed for tensegrity design and form-finding. It is developed as an innovative workflow for design exploration, performance evaluation, and structural optimization of the tensegrity hollow-rope systems. Then, by introducing an adaptive problem-solving algorithm, the correct functioning of the defined plugin for creating new and optimized tensegrity forms is investigated in several case studies. This method facilitates the initial design and form generation of hollow-rope tensegrity optimized nodal geometry in a fully parametric interface.