Numerical form-finding of multi-order tensegrity structures by grouping elements

Multi-order tensegrity structures are an attractive form of compliant deployable structures. An efficient numerical form-finding method is proposed for multi-stable tensegrity structures in this paper. The current method first analyze the force density matrix for sets of more feasible force densities that satisfy the non-degeneracy conditions. Then, based on symmetrical grouping of elements, a genetic algorithm is used to minimize the eigenvalues; as a result, multiple orders of equilibrium can be found. For the investigation, two symmetric tensegrity structures are analyzed using the currently proposed method, and the method's applicability and accuracy have been examined.