Structures 61 (2024) 105965

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Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/structures

Nonlinear dynamics investigation of beam-tensegrity structures

Song Jian *, Liu Heping, Luo Ani
Collage of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study presents a finite element method (FEM) for the nonlinear and linearized dynamics of tensegrity
Tensegrity structure structure, including beams, based on the Lagrangian method. The displacements and rotations of the nodes are
Beam elements applied as global generalized coordinates. The nonlinear beam-tensegrity dynamics with or without constraints
Nonlinear dynamics
are derived first. Then, static equations in three standard forms are presented, in terms of generalized global
Linearized dynamics
Modal analysis
coordinates, force density, and force vectors. Finally, the linearized dynamics and model analysis equations of
the beam-tensegrity structure with or without constraints are given. The general nonlinear FEM dynamics of the
beam-tensegrity system proposed in this study have the following abilities: 1. Accurate nonlinear dynamic and
static analyses with elastic deformation of elements in the system. 2. Various types of boundary conditions for the
system, such as some specified DoFs are fixed, static or dynamic external forces (i.e., the gravitational force or
some forces applied to the specified DoFs). 3. Accurate modal analysis, including the natural frequency of the
system and its corresponding modes. Three examples were investigated to verify the proposed approach, and the
results were compared with those of the analytical method and the commercial software ANSYS. This study
provides new insights into the nonlinear and linearized dynamics, statics, and model analysis of beam-tensegrity
structures.

1. Introduction presented the linearized dynamics of tensegrity structures around the

By combining "tensile" and "integrity," Fuller [1] produced an abbre­
viated term "tensegrity" to classify a kind of prestressable frameworks
composed of compression and tension members, which are created by
Snelson [2]. The bars are compress members, whereas the strings are
tension members. The tensegrity structures have the advantages, such as
the much less mass of the structure to take external loads [3–6], the simple
stress modes for the elements only along the length [7], the easy defor­
mation by tuning the length of strings [8–11], the changeable stiffness due
to the tensions in the strings [12–15], and the soft property caused by
materials [16–19]. The advantages of tensegrity structures have attracted
engineers to apply them in various fields, such as civil structures [20–22],
deployable structures, [16,19,23] and soft robotics [24–26].
General dynamics are essential for analyzing the tensegrity struc­
tures. However, A few studies have been conducted on the dynamics of
tensegrity structure. According to the assumptions that the bars in ten­
segrity structures are rigid or not, the existing literature on the dynamics
of tensegrity can be classified into two types [10]: rigid-body dynamics
and non-rigid body dynamics. The first type is rigid-body dynamics, with
the assumption of rigid bars and linear elastic strings. Sultan et al.
reference solutions of nonlinear equations of motion [27]. Skelton et al.
derived the rigid-body dynamics of class 1 tensegrity in the matrix form
[28]. Cefalo et al. proposed a new dynamic model for class-1 tensegrity
by introducing quaternions as variables to eliminate the singularities of
the rigid body [29]. Kan et al. presented multibody dynamics using a
sliding cable element to investigate the deployment of clustered ten­
segrity [30]. Raman et al. proposed the matrix-form dynamics of ten­
segrity structures with rigid bars and massive strings [31]. Luo et al.
developed a unified framework for the dynamics of tensegrity structures
with rigid bodies and rigid bars using a nonminimal modeling approach
[32]. The second is the non-rigid body dynamics derived by FEM with
assumptions of elastic or plastic bars and strings. For example, based on
the co-rotation method, Faroughi et al. presented a new formulation for
the nonlinear dynamics of space truss structures [33]. Kan et al. inves­
tigated the dynamics of clustered tensegrity structures using a positional
formulation FEM [10]. Hsu et al. derived a constrained Lagrangian
formulation for tensegrity structures using both rigid and elastic bars
[34]. Ma et al. presented a general finite element analysis approach for
nonlinear and linearized tensegrity dynamics based on the Lagrangian
method [35]. Recently, Ma et al. extended the clustered strings and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: songjian007@hrbeu.edu.cn (S. Jian).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2024.105965
Received 26 October 2023; Received in revised form 9 January 2024; Accepted 23 January 2024
2352-0124/© 2024 Institution of Structural Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

pulleys into the dynamics of tensegrity structures [36,37]. However, [ ]T

n0 = nT01 nT02 ... nT0nn . (4)
most tensegrity dynamics do not consider the bar bending. In many
cases, we must combine the tensegrity structures and beams, or consider
The nodal coordinate vector n ∈ ℝ6nn and its matrix form N ∈ ℝ6×nn can
some specified bars in the tensegrity structure as beams, such as the
main beam of the tensegrity bridge [38], the support pillar of the sun­ be obtained as:
screen [39], and the bracket for the dome [20]. To gain insight into the n = n0 + q, (5)
nonlinear beam-tensegrity dynamics and future convenience in the field
of structural control, the dynamics of beam-tensegrity is required, which N = [ n1 n2 ... nnn ], (6)
is included in this study.
Few studies have analyzed tensegrity structures, including beams. where ni = n0i + qi , i = 1, 2,...,nn .
According to the dynamic relaxation (DR) method, Adriaenssens et al.
developed a numerical analysis method for the form-finding and load 2.2. Connectivity matrix
analysis of tensegrity spline beams and grid shell structures [20]. Rimoli
et al. introduced a physics-based reduced-order model for tensegrity We use the connectivity matrix C ∈ ℝnc ×nn to express how elements in
structures by considering the bending of bars to capture the Eulerian the structure are connected. If the kth element connects nodes i and j (i,
buckling loads of individual bars [40]. Chen et al. derived the contin­ j = 1, 2,...,nn ), then the kth row of C is denoted as Ck , which satisfies:
uous and discrete dynamics of tensegrity using a five-node discrete bar ⎧
⎨ − 1, r = i,
model considering tension, compression, and bending deformation to (7)
[C](k,r) = 1, r = j,
analyze the buckling and post-buckling behavior of bars [41]. However, ⎩
0, r = else,
most of the dynamics of tensegrity considering the bending of bars are
derived by reduced-order bar models, which can-not be applied to the where r = 1, 2,...,nn . For convenience of deriving the dynamics of the
tensegrity structure, including beams. We employed the Euler–Bernoulli beam-tensegrity structure, we divide C into two parts. One is the ten­
beam model to achieve high-precision beam-tensegrity dynamics, which segrity element connectivity matrix Ct ∈ ℝnt ×nn and the other is the
considers stretching, bending, and twisting of the beams. The proposed beam connectivity matrix Ce ∈ ℝne ×nn . We define the generalized coor­
dynamics can be applied to analyze the statics, dynamics, modal anal­ dinate vector of the kth element qck ∈ ℝ12 (k = 1, 2,..., nc ) connecting
ysis, and linearized dynamics of beam-tensegrity structures.
nodes i and j (i, j = 1, 2,..., nn ) as follows:
The rest of the paper is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the
global generalized coordinate vector dynamics, connectivity matrices, qck = [ ui vi wi φi ψ i θi uj vj wj φj ψ j θj ]T . (8)
and element properties, including the beam mesh size definitions. Sec­
tion 3 elaborates on tensegrity structure dynamics, including energy We extract qck from q as:
equations, generalized force vectors, and static/dynamic analyses. Sec­
tion 4 formulates linearized dynamics and modal analysis equations. qck = Ck q, (9)
Section 5 illustrates three examples for validating the proposed dy­
namics, statics, and model analysis. Finally, Section 6 presents the where Ck ∈ ℝ12×6nn is the index matrix of the kth element:
conclusions of this study. ̃ k ⊗ I6 ,
Ck = C (10)

2. Notations of beam-tensegrity structures I6 ∈ ℝ6×6 is an identity matrix and C

̃ k ∈ ℝ2×nn is a transformation matrix
whose pth column satisfies:
For convenience of the subsequent dynamic derivation and clear
expression, we provide the notations of beam-tensegrity systems. ⎧[1 T
0] ,p = i
⎨
̃k]
[C (p,:) = [0 T
1] ,p = j , (11)
⎩
2.1. Global generalized coordinate vector T
[0 0 ] , p = else
The elements in the beam-tensegrity structure can be expressed by the e
where p = 1,2,...,nn . We stack all the index matrices of beams Ci ∈
nodes in Cartesian coordinates. We assume that the beam-tensegrity t
structure has nn nodes, nc elements, including ne beams, and nt tensegr­ ℝ12×6nn (i = 1,..., ne ) and tensegrity elements Cj ∈ ℝ12×6nn (j = 1,2,...,nt )
ity elements (nc = ne + nt ). Considering the stretching, bending, and together, respectively, we obtain:
twisting of the elements, we use 6 degrees of freedom (DoFs) to represent [ T ]T
(12)
e T T
each node ni (i = 1, 2,...,nn ) in the structure, which are the displacements C = Ce1 Ce2 . Cen
e
,
ui , vi , and wi along the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively, and rotations φi , ψ i ,
[ T ]T
and θi around the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. The displacements and
(13)
t tT tT
C = Ct1 C2 . Cnt ,
rotations of ni can be expressed into the vector form as:
e t
qi = [ ui vi wi φi ψ i θ i ]T . (1) where C ∈ ℝ12ne ×6nn , C ∈ ℝ12nt ×6nn . Note that:

(14)
e
The initial coordinate vector n0i of ni can be written as: qei = Ci q,

n0i = [ X0i Y0i Z0i Φ0i Ψ 0i T

Θ0i ] , (2) t
qtj = Cj q, (15)
where X0i , Y0i , Z0i , Φ0i , Ψ 0i , and Θ0i are the x- , y- and z- initial co­
where qei ∈ ℝ12 and qtj ∈ ℝ12 are the generalized coordinate vectors of
ordinates and angels of node i, respectively. We stack all qi and n0i (i = 1,
2,..., nn ) into two vectors, which are named the global generalized co­ the ith beam and jth tensegrity element, respectively.
ordinate vector q ∈ ℝ6nn and the initial nodal coordinate vector n0 ∈
2.3. Geometric properties of the structural elements
ℝ6nn for the entire structure, which can be expressed as:
[ ]T
q = qT1 qT2 ... qTnn , (3) The structural topology can be obtained using the nodal coordinate
vector n and connectivity matrix C. To compute the geometric

2
S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

beams At and Ae , Young’s modulus vectors for tensegrity elements and

beams Et and Ee , the material density vectors for tensegrity elements
and beams ρt and ρe for the structure network as follows:
[ ]T [ ]T
At = At1 At2 ... Atnt , Ae = Ae1 Ae2 ... Aene , (24)

[ ]T [ ]T
Et = Et1 Et2 ... Etnt , Ee = Ee1 Ee2 ... Eene , (25)

[ ]T [ ]T
ρt = ρt1 ρt2 ... ρtnt , ρe = ρe1 ρe2 ... ρene . (26)

The mass vector for tensegrity elements and beams m and m can be t e

obtained as:
[ ]T t ̂t t [ ]T
Fig. 1. Displacements and rotations of the Nodes i and j in the local reference mt = mt1 mt2 ... mtnt ρA
=̂ l0 , me = me1 me2 ... mene
on kth beam, in which the ̃x-axis coincides with the centerline of the beam, le0k is
e
(27)
ê e
ρ A
=̂ l0 ,
the rest length of the kth beam, and μ is a particle on the centerline.
where ̂v is an operator that transforms the vector v into a diagonal
properties of the structural elements, we need an index matrix En ∈
matrix. The force vector tt ∈ ℝnt of the tensegrity elements is:
ℝ6nn ×3nn to abstract all the x, y, and z coordinates from n, and its ith
column satisfies: [ ] t− 1 ( )
̂ t̂l lt − lt ,
̂tA
tt = tt1 tt2 ... ttnt = E 0 0 (28)
[En ](:,i) = I6nn (:,ci ) , (16)
where v− 1 takes the reciprocals of each entry in the vector v. The force
where I6nn ∈ ℝ6nn ×6nn is an identity matrix, ci is the ith entry of the index density of the ith tensegrity element is defined as xi = t ti /lti , and the force
vector for the nodal coordinates c ∈ ℝ3nn : vector of the tensegrity elements is obtained as:

c = [1 2 3 ... 6i − 5 6i − 4 6i − 5 ... 6nn − 5 6nn − 4 6nn − 3 ]T , (17)

where i = 1,...,nn . The element vector hk ∈ ℝ3 of kth element connecting t− 1

(
̂ t l t − 1 − lt − 1
̂tA
)
x = ̂l tt = E (29)
nodes i and j can be written as: 0

( )
hk = nj − ni = Ck ⊗ I3 ETn n , (18)
2.5. Mesh size of beam
and the length of kth element is:
We divide one beam in the structure into nm sub-beams by meshing
( ( ) )1
lk = ‖hk ‖ = nT En CTk Ck ⊗ ETn n 2 . (19) the beam to increase the accuracy and quality of the dynamics of the
structure. The mesh size of the beam is defined as nm . The number of
Stacking all the element vectors of tensegrity elements hti ∈ ℝ3 (i = 1, beams in the entire structure increases from ne to nm ne , and the number
2,..., nt ) into one matrix, we obtain the element matrix for tensegrity of nodes for the entire structure increases from nn to nn + ne (nm − 1). For
elements Ht ∈ ℝ3×nt : convenience, we still denote the number of the beams and nodes of the
structure as ne and nn , respectively, in the following work.
[ ]
(20)
T
Ht = ht1 ht2 ... htnt = Nc Ct ,
3. Dynamics of beam-tensegrity structure
where Nc denotes the first three rows of N. The length vector of the
tensegrity elements lt ∈ ℝnt can be written as: In a beam-tensegrity structure, the large displacement elements are
[ ]T strings and bars, while the small displacement elements are beams.
lt = lt1 lt2 ... ltnt . (21) Thus, we apply linear dynamics to beams and nonlinear dynamic to bars
and strings, which can reduce the difficulty of calculation while guar­
The rest length vectors of the tensegrity elements lt0 ∈ ℝnt and the beams anteeing the computational accuracy.
le0 ∈ ℝne are:
[ ]T
lt0 = lt01 lt02 ... lt0nt , (22) 3.1. Energy equations of beam-tensegrity structure

[
le0 = le01 le02 ... le0ne
]T
, (23) 3.1.1. Shape function of beam
The beams in the beam-tensegrity structure are slender, therefore,
we consider the beams in the beam-tensegrity structure as
2.4. Physical properties of the structural elements Euler–Bernoulli beams. To derive the beam dynamics, we first determine
the shape function of the beams. As shown in Fig. 1, we set a local
To derive the dynamics of the structure, we define the material. Let reference frame ̃ o− ̃x̃ỹ
z on the kth beam of the structure, in which the
Ati , Aej , Eti , Eej , ρti , and ρej be the cross-section area, Young’s modulus, and origin is on the node i and the ̃
x-axis coincides with the centerline of the
material density of the ith tensegrity element and jth beam, respectively. beam. According to the finite element method for a 3D Euler–Bernoulli
One can write the cross-section area vectors for tensegrity elements and beam, the elastic deformation of an arbitrary point μ of the 3D two-node

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

meshed element is given by: ⎡ ⎤

xk , x) cos(̃
cos(̃ yk , x) cos(̃zk , x)
qek (ξ) = qek ,
Ũ (30) ⎣
λk = cos(̃ yk , y) cos(̃zk , y) ⎦.
xk , y) cos(̃ (42)
xk , z) cos(̃
cos(̃ yk , z) cos(̃zk , z)
where ξ = μ/le0k , qek (ξ) ∈ ℝ6 is the displacement vector of the point at μ in
the beam: 3.1.3. Kinetic energy
The displacements and rotations of an arbitrary point μ on the kth
qek (ξ) = [ uek (ξ) vek (ξ) wek (ξ) φek (ξ) ψ e
k (ξ) θek (ξ) ]T , (31) beam are given by Eq. (30), the kinetic energy of the kth beam in the
structure can be derived as:
qek ∈ ℝ12 is the local displacement coordinate vector of the kth beam:
̃
̃ ek
T = ̃ eu + T
T ̃ ev + T ̃ ew + T ̃ eφ + T
̃ eψ + T̃ eθ
(32)
T
qek = [ ̃
̃ ui vi
̃ w
̃i φ
̃i ψ̃ i ̃θi ̃uj ̃vj w
̃j φ ̃j ̃
̃j ψ θj ] , ( )
∫ e
1 l0k e e ∂uek (ξ) ∂vek (ξ) ∂wek (ξ)
ρ k Ak + + dμ
U ∈ ℝ6×12 is the matrix of the beam shape function: =
2 0 ∂t ∂t ∂t
∫ le ( e )2
⎡ ⎤ 1 0k e ∂φk (ξ)
N1 0 0 0 0 0 N2 0 0 0 0 0 + ρk Ikx dμ
⎢ 0 2 0 ∂t (43)
⎢ N3 0 0 0 N4 0 N5 0 0 0 N6 ⎥⎥
⎢ 0 0 N3 0 − N4 0 0 0 N5 0 − N6 0 ⎥ ∫ e ( )2 ∫ e ( )2
U=⎢ ⎥, 1 l0k e e 2 ∂ψ ek (ξ) 1 l0k e e 2 ∂θek (ξ)
⎢ 0 0 0 N1 0 0 0 0 0 N2 0 0 ⎥ + ρ k Ak μ dμ + ρ k Ak μ dμ
⎢
⎣ 0
⎥ 2 0 ∂t 2 0 ∂t
0 − N′3 0 N′4 0 0 0 − N′5 0 N′6 0 ⎦ ∫ le
0 N′3 0 0 0 N′4 0 N′5 0 0 0 N′6 1 0k
= q̇k (ξ)T Υk q̇k (ξ)dμ,
(33) 2 0

where: ̃e , T
where v̇ is the time derivative of v, T ̃ e , and T
̃ e are the translational
u v w
kinetic energy along ̃x− ,̃ y − , and ̃z − axes, respectively. T ̃e , T
̃ e , and
N1 = 1 − ξ, N2 = ξ, (34) φ ψ
̃ e are the rotational kinetic energy around ̃
T x− ,̃ y − , and ̃
z − axes,
( ) θ
N3 = 1 − 3ξ2 + 3ξ3 , N4 = le0k ξ − 2ξ2 + ξ , 3
(35) respectively, Ikx is the polar moment of inertia for the kth beam, and ϒk
( ) is a diagonal matrix:
N5 = 3ξ2 − 2ξ3 , N6 = le0k − ξ2 + ξ3 , (36) ⎡ ⎤
( ) ⎢ Aek 0 0 0 0 0 ⎥
6 ⎢ ⎥
N′3 = e ξ2 − ξ , N′4 = 1 − 4ξ + 3ξ2 , (37) ⎢ 0
⎢ Aek 0 0 0 0 ⎥⎥
l0k ⎢ ⎥
⎢ 0 0 Aek 0 0 0 ⎥
( ) ( ) ϒk = ρek ⎢
⎢ 0
⎥. (44)
6 ⎢ 0 0 Ikx 0 0 ⎥⎥
N′5 = e ξ − ξ2 , N′6 = le0k − 2ξ + 3ξ2 , (38) ⎢ ⎥
l0k ⎢ 0
⎢ 0 0 0 Aek μ2 0 ⎥⎥
⎣ 0 0 0 0 0 e 2⎦
Aμ
Because of the properties of tensegrity structure, the tensegrity elements
k

only take tension or compression, therefore, the rotations (φ, ψ, θ) of the

nodes for tensegrity elements are zero. Thus, the shape function for the By substituting Eq. (30) into Eq. (43), we obtain:
kth (k = 1, 2,...,nt ) tensegrity element can be expressed as: ( ˙ e )T e ˙ e
̃ ek = 1 ̃
T q M ̃ ̃
k qk , (45)
qtk (ξ) = Hqtk , (39) 2 k

̃ e = l0k UT ϒk Udμ ∈ ℝ12×12 is the mass matrix of the kth beam in

∫e
where qtk (ξ) is the displacement vector of the particle at μ in the kth where M k 0
tensegrity element, and H ∈ ℝ6×12 is the matrix of shape function for the local reference frame. Using Eqs. (12), (14), (41), and (45), the ki­
tensegrity elements: netic energies of all beams Te can be determined as follows:
[ ] ∑
ne ∑
ne
N1 0 N2 0 ̃ ek = 1 eT
̃ e Rk Ce q̇ = 1q̇T Ce Me Ce q̇ = 1q̇T Me q̇,
T
H= ⊗ I3 , (40) Te = T q̇T Ck RTk M k k (46)
0 0 0 0 k=1
2 k=1
2 2

3.1.2. Coordinate transformation matrix where Me ∈ ℝ6nn ×6nn is the mass matrix of all the beams in the structure,
The shape function is a function of the local displacement coordinate e
and M ∈ ℝ12ne ×12ne is a block diagonal matrix, in which the matrices in
qek . We must transform the local generalized coordinate vector of
vector ̃ ̃ e Rk (k = 1, 2,...,ne ), which is expressed as:
the diagonal line are RT M k k
the kth beam ̃ qek into the global generalized coordinate vector of the kth
⎡ ⎤
beam qek to obtain the general form of dynamics for beam-tensegrity ̃ R1
RT1 M
e
1
structure. Let the global reference frame be o − xyz and the local ⎢ ⎥
(47)
e
M =⎢
⎣ ⋱ ⎥.
⎦
reference frame for the kth beam ̃ o− ̃ xk ̃
yk̃zk . The unit vectors for o − xyz ̃ Rn e e
RTne M
are (x, y, z), and the unit vectors for ̃ o− ̃ xk ̃ zk presented in the global
yk ̃
ne

reference frame are (̃ xk ,̃yk ,̃zk ). The relationship between ̃ qek and qek is:
The kinetic energy for the kth tensegrity element can be determined as:
qek = Rk qek ,
̃ (41) ∫ lt0k
1 ( )2
T tk = ρtk Atk q̇tk (ξ) dμ. (48)
where Rk ∈ ℝ 12×12
is the coordinate transformation matrix of the kth 2 0

beam, which is a block diagonal matrix. The matrices in the diagonal

By substituting Eq. (39) into Eq. (48), we obtain:
line are λk , satisfying:
∫ lt0k ∫ lt0k
ρtk Atk ( )2 1 T 1 T
T tk = Hq̇tk dμ = q̇tk ρtk Atk HT Hdμq̇tk = q̇tk Mtk q̇tk , (49)
2 0 2 0 2

4
S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

Table 1
The material parameters of the structure.
Error Analytical solution (Eq. (116)) ANSYS
14 13
Dynamics − 5.90 × 10− m 7.76 × 10− m
12 12
Statics − 5.92 × 10− m 5.09 × 10− m

T = Te + Tt. (52)

3.1.4. Strain potential energy

The strain potential energy of the kth beam Ṽ e includes the strain po­
k
e e e
tential energies V
̃ ,V
u
̃ , and V
v
̃ along the x- , y- , and z-axes, respectively,
w
Fig. 2. The cantilever beam.
and the torsional potential energy V ̃ e around the x-axis, which can be
φ
determined using Eq. (30):

̃ ek
V = ̃ eu + V
V ̃ ev + Ṽ ew + Ṽ eφ
∫ l e e e ( e )2 ∫ l e e ( 2 e )2
k k ∂uk (ξ) k kx ∂ vk (ξ)
0k E A 0k E I
= dμ + dμ
0 2 ∂μ 0 2 ∂μ
∫ l e e ( 2 e )2 ∫ l e e ( e )2
k ky ∂ wk (ξ) k kz ∂φk (ξ)
0k E I 0k G I
+ dμ + dμ
0 2 ∂μ 0 2 ∂μ (53)
∫ e ∫ e
Eek Aek l0k eT T Ee Ikx l0k eT T
= e2
qk U′1 U′1 ̃
̃ qek dμ + k e4 ̃ qek dμ
qk U″2 U″2 ̃
2l0k 0 2l0k 0
∫ e ∫ e
Eek Iky l0k eT T e Gek Ikx l0k eT T
+ 4
̃
qk U ″3 U″ 3 ̃
qk dμ + 4
̃ qek dμ,
qk U′4 U′4 ̃
2le0k 0 2le0k 0
Fig. 3. The final configuration of ANSYS.
where Gek is the torsional stiffness around ̃x-axis of kth beam, Iky and Ikz are
the inertia moment of the area for ̃ y- and ̃
z-axes of the kth beam, Ui (i = 1,
∫ lt
where Mtk = ρtk Atk 00k HT Hdμ ∈ ℝ12×12 is the mass matrix for the kth 2, 3, 4) is the ith row of matrix of beam shape function U. U′i and U″i are
tensegrity element. The kinetic energy for all tensegrity elements T t can the first and second derivatives of Ui with respect to μ, respectively. By
be derived by using Eqs. (13), (15) and (49): substituting the derivatives of Eq. (30) into Eq. (53), we obtain:
∑ 1∑ 1∑ ̃ ek = 1̃
nt nt nt
1 ̃ ẽ (54)
T
tT
Tt = T tk =
T
q̇t Mt q̇t =
t t
q̇T Ck M Ck q̇ = q̇T Mt q̇, (50) V qe K qe ,
2 k=1 k k k 2 k=1 2 2 k k k
k=1
e
where K̃ ∈ ℝ12×12 is the stiffness matrix of the kth beam. The strain
where Mt ∈ ℝ6nn ×6nn is the mass matrix of the tensegrity elements, and k
t potential energy of all the beams in the structure can be determined
M ∈ ℝ12nt ×12nt is a block diagonal matrix, in which the matrices on the
t
using Eqs. (12), (14), (41) and (54):
diagonal line are Mk (k = 1,...,nt ):
∑
ne ∑
ne
̃e = 1 eT
̃ e Rk Ce q = 1qT Ce K e Ce q = 1qT K e q,
T
⎡ t ⎤ Ve = V k qT Ck RTk K k k (55)
M1 k=1
2 k=1
2 2
⎢ ⎥
(51)
t
M =⎢ ⎣ ⋱ ⎥.
⎦
t
Mnt where Ke ∈ ℝ6nn ×6nn is the stiffness matrix of all the beams in the
e
structure, K ∈ ℝ12ne ×12ne is a block diagonal matrix, in which the
Using Eqs. (46) and (50), the kinetic energy for the beam-tensegrity ̃ e Rk (k = 1,2,…, ne ):
matrices on the diagonal line are RT K k k
structure T can be determined as:
⎡ e
⎤
̃ R1
RT1 K 1
⎢ ⎥
(56)
e
K =⎢
⎣ ⋱ ⎥.
⎦
e
̃ Rne
RTne K ne

We consider the nonlinear strain potential energy equation of tensegrity

elements due to the large deformations. Thus, the strain potential energy
of the tensegrity elements V t is obtained as:
nt ∫ lti nt ∫ lti t t
( )
∑ nt ∑ ∑ Ei Ai u − lt0i
Vt = V ti = tti du = t du, (57)
i=1 i=1 lt0i i=1 lt0i l0i

where V ti is the strain potential energy of the ith tensegrity element and
du is the differential of the structure member length.
The strain potential energy of the beam-tensegrity structure can be
calculated using Eqs. (55) and (57):

V = Ve + Vt. (58)
Fig. 4. Time history for Z coordinates of Node 2.

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

Because the strain energy of the tensegrity elements V t is nonlinear with ∫ le0k

respect to the global displacement vector q, we determine the derivative δwek = fk (μ)δvek (ξ)dμ, (63)
of V t with respect to q, which is given by:
x̃ỹ 0

( ) ∫ le0k
∂V t ∑ nt
∂V ti ∂lti ∑nt
Eti Ati lti − lt0i ∂lti ∑nt
∂lt δwek = fk (μ)δwek (ξ)dμ. (64)
= t = t = tti i . (59)
∂q i=1
∂li ∂q i=1 l0i ∂q i=1 ∂q x̃z̃ 0

qek and ωek (ξ) = U3 ̃

Note that vek (ξ) = U2 ̃ qek . Using Eqs. (63) and (64), the
The derivative of ith tensegrity element’ length with respect to q is ob­
tained from Eq. (19): gravity vector of the kth beam gek ∈ ℝ12 can be obtained as:

[ ]T
mek g mek gle0k mek gle0k mek g mek gle0k mek gle0k
gek = 0 0 − − 0 0 0 − − 0 . (65)
2 12 12 2 12 12

( ) ( )
t t T
T By stacking all the gravity vectors of the beams gek (i = 1, 2,...,ne ) into
∂lti En Ci Ci ⊗ I3 En n0 + q
= t , (60) one vector, the gravity vector of beams ge ∈ ℝ12ne is given as:
∂q li
[ ]T
(66)
T T T
ge = ge1 ge2 ... gene .
Eq. (60) is substituted into Eq. (59) and using the definition of force
density xi = t ti /lti for the ith tensegrity element, we have: The gravity vector of the ith tensegrity element, gti ∈ ℝ12 can be
( T ) ( )
( ) ( ) written as:
∂V t ∑ nt
t t T tT t T
= xi En Ci Ci ⊗ I3 En n0 + q = En C ̂ x C ⊗ I3 En n0 + q [ ]T
∂q mt g mt g
i=1
( ) gti = 0 0 − i 0 0 0 0 0 − i 0 0 0 . (67)
2 2
= K n0 + q ,
By stacking gti (i = 1, 2,...,nt ) into one vector, we obtain the gravity
(61) vector of tensegrity elements gt ∈ ℝ12nt , which is given by:
T
where K t = En (Ct ̂
x Ct ) ⊗ I3 ETn ∈ ℝ6nn ×6nn is the stiffness matrix of the
tensegrity elements.

3.2. Generalized force vector

To derive the dynamic equation of the structure, the generalized

force vector Q of the beam-tensegrity structure must be determined. Q
primarily includes the gravity, external force, and damping force of the
beam-tensegrity structure. Firstly, the gravity of the kth beam can be
treated as the uniform force applied on the beam:
fk (μ) = − ρek Aek g, (62)

where g is the gravitational acceleration. According to the principle of

virtual work, the virtual work of the kth beam in the ̃
x̃
y- and ̃
x̃z-planes
caused by gravity δωek and δωek can be written as:
x̃ỹ x̃z̃

Fig. 6. Errors for natural frequencies of the cantilever beam with respect to the
order of vibration mode by BtensegFem and ANSYS.

Fig. 5. Natural frequencies of the cantilever beam with respect to the order of
vibration mode by BtensegFem and ANSYS.
Fig. 7. The first four mode shapes of the cantilever beam obtained by Bten­
segFem. The solid line sub-figures from top left to bottom right are mode 1,
f= 7.1581 Hz, mode 2, f= 7.1581 Hz, mode 3, f= 44.8569 Hz, mode 4,
f= 44.8569 Hz. The grey lines under the solid lines are shapes of the original
cantilever beam.

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

Fig. 8. The first four mode shapes of the cantilever beam obtained by ANSYS. The colorful sub-figures from op left o bottom right are mode 1, f = 7.1581 Hz, mode 2,
f = 7.1581 Hz, mode 3, f = 44.8566 Hz, and mode 4, f = 44.8566 Hz. The gray dashed lines under the colorful lines are shapes of the original cantilever beam.

Fig. 9. The configuration of tensegrity prism with beams. The thick black lines are the bars, and the thin red lines are the strings. The blue numbers with circles are
the labels for the nodes. All the DoFs of Nodes 1, 3, and 5 are fixed, then the three bars on the xy plane can be considered as a beam element the beams. We set R
= 0.5 m, h = 0.8 m, φr = 150◦.

Table 2
The material parameters of the structure.
Parameter Values

Diameter of beams 1 × 10− 2 m

Diameter of bars 6 × 10− 3 m
Diameter of strings 2 × 10− 3 m
Young’s modulus of beams 2 × 1011 Pa
Young’s modulus of bars 2 × 1011 Pa
Young’s modulus of strings 7.6 × 1010 Pa
Density of beams 7, 870 kg/m3
Density of bars 7, 870 kg/m3
Density of strings 7, 083 kg/m3
Fig. 10. The final configuration of tensegrity prism with beams. The dashed
grey lines are the initial configuration, and the solid lines are the final
[ ]T configuration.
(68)
T T T
gt = gt1 gt2 ... gtnt .

Let the gravity vector of the beam-tensegrity structure be g ∈ ℝ6nn , [ e ]− 1 [ ]

C ge eT tT
and the relations among g, ge , and gt are: g= t = C ge + C gt . (71)
C gt
(69)
e e
g = C g,
The damping force vector f d ∈ ℝ6nn of the system is assumed to be linear
t
g = C g.
t
(70) in terms of q, which is expressed as:

[ T ] f d = − Dq̇, (72)
tT
Since Ce C is an orthogonal matrix, we have:
where D ∈ ℝ6nn ×6nn is the damping matrix. Finally, the generalized force
vector Q ∈ ℝ6nn can be written as:

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

Fig. 11. The time history curve of Z coordinate for Node 9.

Fig. 13. The errors for natural frequencies of the prism with respect to the
order of vibration mode by BtensegFem and ANSYS.

smaller dimensions. The free and pinned DoFs must be separated to

apply these constraints to the dynamics. The index vectors for the free
DoFs a and constrained DoFs b are defined as follows:

(78)
T
a = [ a1 a2 ... ana ] ,

b = [ b1 b2 ... bnb ]T , (79)

where ai and bi are the indices of the free DoFs and constrained DoFs, na
and nb are the numbers of the free DoFs and constrained DoFs, respec­
tively, and na + nb = 6nn . We define qa and qb as the free DoFs and
Fig. 12. Natural frequencies of the prism with respect to the order of vibration
constrained DoFs vectors, respectively. To obtain qa and qb from q, we
mode by BtensegFem and ANSYS.
use two index matrices, Ea ∈ ℝ6nn ×na and Eb ∈ ℝ6nn ×nb , which satisfy:

Q = f ex + g + f d , (73) [Ea ](:,i) = I6nn (:,ai ) , [Eb ](:,i) = I6nn (:,bi ) . (80)

where f ex ∈ ℝ6nn is the external force vector applied to the DoFs in the Using Eq. (80):
structure.
qa = ETa q, qb = ETb q. (81)
3.3. Dynamics of beam-tensegrity system based on Lagrangian method
Note that [ Ea Eb ] is an orthogonal matrix, and the global coordinate
displacement vector q is given by:
After determining the kinetic energy, strain potential energy, and
generalized force vector of the beam-tensegrity structure, the [ ]− 1 [ ]
ETa qa
Lagrangian method can be used to derive the dynamic formula of the q= = Ea qa + Eb qb . (82)
ETb qb
beam. The Lagrangian equation is given by:
d ∂L ∂L
− = Q, (74) If the beam-tensegrity structure has constraints, the DoFs of the struc­
dt ∂q̇ ∂q ture are reduced to na ; thus, qa is the generalized coordinate for the
system, and the Lagrange’s equation is given by:
where L = T − V is the Lagrangian function, T and V are the kinetic
energy and strain potential energy of the structure, q is the global co­ d ∂L
−
∂L
= Qa , (83)
ordinate vector, and Q is the generalized force vector for q. By dt ∂q̇a ∂qa
substituting Eqs. (52), (58), (61), and (73) into Eq. (74), we obtain the
following dynamic equation for the structure: where Qa is the generalized force applied to the free DoFs vector qa ,
which is expressed as:
Mq̈ + Dq̇ + Kq + K t n0 = f ex + g, (75)
Qa = ETa Q. (84)
6nn ×6nn 6nn ×6nn
where M ∈ ℝ and K ∈ ℝ are the mass and stiffness matrices
The relationship between the left-hand side of Eqs. (74) and (83) as
of the beam-tensegrity structure, respectively:
follows:
M = M e + Mt , (76) [ ] [ ]
d ∂L ∂L ∂q d ∂L ∂L d ∂L ∂L
− = − = ETa − . (85)
dt ∂q̇a ∂qa ∂qa dt ∂q̇ ∂q dt ∂q̇ ∂q
K = Ke + Kt . (77)
By substituting Eqs. (85) and (84) into Eq. (83), we obtain the dynamics
3.4. Dynamics of beam-tensegrity system with constraints of beam-tensegrity structures with constraints:
( ) ( )
In practical applications, the displacement, rotation, velocity, ETa Mq̈ + Dq̇ + Kq + K t n0 = ETa f ex + g (86)
angular velocity, acceleration, and angular acceleration of the specified
DoFs in the system are fixed or given. These constraints would restrict By substituting Eq. (82) into the above equation and arranging the terms
the motion of the system to some DoFs, and Eq. (75) can be reduced to related to qa on the left side, we obtain:

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

Fig. 14. The 2–5th mode shapes of the prism, including beams obtained by BtensegFem. The solid line sub-figures from left to right are mode 2, f= 8.6274 Hz, mode
3, f= 8.6275 Hz, mode 4, f= 12.5350 Hz and mode 5, f= 19.0321 Hz. The dotted lines under the solid lines are shapes of the original tensegrity prism,
including beams.

Fig. 15. The 2–5th mode shapes of the prism, including beams obtained by ANSYS. The colorful sub-figures from left to right are mode 2, f = 8.6275 Hz, mode 3, f
= 8.6275 Hz, mode 4, f = 12.5352 Hz, and mode 5, f = 19.0321 Hz. The gray lines under the colorful lines are shapes of the original tensegrity prism,
including beams.

Maa q̈a + K aa qa + Daa q̇a = ETa f ex + ETa g − Mab q̈b − K ab qb − ETa K t n0 − Dab q̇b , 3.5. Static equilibrium equation
(87)
Let the velocity q̇ and acceleration q̈ in Eq. (75) be zero, and the
where Maa and Mab are mass matrices, K aa and K ab are stiffness matrices, dynamic equation is reduced to the static equation of the system. We
and Daa and Dab are damping matrices: present three standard forms of the static equation, which can be used to
the derivation of the next section. The first form of the static equation
Maa = ETa MEa , Mab = ETa MEb , (88) can be written as:

K aa = ETa KEa , K ab = ETa KEb , (89) K e q + K t n = f ex + g. (92)

Daa = ETa DEa , Dab = ETa DEb . (90) The second term on the left side of Eq. (92) can be transformed into
another form in terms of force density x, which is expressed as:
For convenience of programming, we propose another form of Eq.
(87) in terms of q̈a :
( )
q̈a = M−aa1 ETa f ex + g − MEb q̈b − Kq − K t n0 − Dq (91)

Fig. 17. The simplified tensegrity sunscreen.

Fig. 16. A tensegrity sunscreen [19].

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

Fig. 18. The final configuration of the tensegrity sunscreen. The thick black
lines are the bars and beams, the thin red lines are the strings, and the dotted
grey lines and dotted pink lines are the bars and strings in the initial position.

( T )
Kt n = En C t ̂
x Ct ⊗ I3 ETn n Fig. 20. Natural frequencies of the sunscreen with respect to the order of vi­
( T ) ) ) bration mode by BtensegFem and ANSYS.
= En Ct ⊗ I3 (̂ x ⊗I3 (Ct ⊗I3 ETn n
( T )( ) )
= En Ct ⊗ I3 Int ⊗ ̂ I3,1 x (Ct ⊗I3 ETn n (93) compatibility matrix of the ith tensegrity element:
( T )( ) ) [ t ]T
= En Ct ⊗ I3 (Ct ⊗̂ I3 ETn n Int ⊗ I3,1 x dlti ∂li
=
( T ) dq ∂q
= En Ct ⊗ I3 b.d.(H)x, ( T )
nT En Cti Cti ⊗ I3 ETn
=
where b.d.(V) is the block diagonal matrix of V. By substituting Eq. (93) lti
into Eq. (92), we obtain the second form of the static equation: ( T )( ) (98)
nT En Cti ⊗ I3 Cti ⊗I3 ETn
K e q + A1 x = f ex + g, (94) =
lti
( )
where A1 ∈ ℝ6nn ×nt is the equilibrium matrix with the force density x as T
hti Cti ⊗I3 ETn
the variables: = .
lti
( T )
A1 = En Ct ⊗ I3 b.d.(H). (95)
Stacking all the compatibility matrices of the tensegrity elements into
− 1
one matrix, and the compatibility matrix for the tensegrity structure can
t
By substituting x = ̂l tt into the above equation, we obtain the third be obtained as:
form of the static equation:
dlt
= Bl , (99)
K e q + A2 tt = f ex + g, (96) dq

where A2 ∈ ℝ6nn ×nt is the equilibrium matrix with the force vector of where Bl ∈ ℝnt ×6nn is the compatibility matrix:
tensegrity elements tt as the variables: t− 1
(100)
T
( T ) Bl = ̂l b.d.(Ht ) Ct ⊗ I3 ETn .
t− 1
A2 = En Ct ⊗ I3 b.d.(H)̂l . (97)
Here Bl is the transposition of A2 .

3.6. Compatibility equation 4. Linearized beam-tensegrity dynamics

The compatibility equation represents the relationship between dq Kt in Eq. (75) is a function of q and the dynamic equation for the
and dlt ensuring that the structure undergoes continuous physical beam-tensegrity system investigated in this paper is nonlinear. For
deformation. Taking the derivative of Eq. (19), we obtain the future research on the linear control of the beam-tensegrity system and

Fig. 19. The time history curve of Z coordinate for Node 7.

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S. Jian et al. Structures 61 (2024) 105965

derivatives of Eq. (29):

[ t t( − 1 )] ( )
̂ ̂ t t− 1 t− 1
∂x ∂ E A l0 − l t t ∂l ∂ − l
t
∂lt t− 2 ̂ t ̂ t t− 3 t t
= ̂ A
=E ̂ t = ̂l E A = A1̂l E ̂.
̂ A
∂q ∂q ∂q ∂l ∂q
(103)
t
The partial derivatives of ∂(K (n∂x0 +q)) is obtained using Eq. (93):

∂(K t (n0 + q)) ∂(A1 x)

= = AT1 . (104)
∂x ∂x

Substituting Eqs. (103) and (104) into Eq. (102), K T is obtained as:
t− 3 t
̂tA
K T = K t + K e + A1̂l E ̂ AT . (105)
1

The first term of K T is called the geometric stiffness matrix K G = K t ,

Fig. 21. The error for natural frequencies of the sunscreen with respect to the which is determined by the force density x and the geometry of the
order of vibration mode by BtensegFem and ANSYS. tensegrity structure. The last two terms of K T are the material stiffness
− 3
t
matrix K E = K e + A1̂l E ̂t t AT , which is decided by structure config­
1
modal analysis in the next section, we derive the linearized dynamics of
uration and the stiffness of the elements.
the beam-tensegrity structure.
Eq. (101) can also be written in the standard state-space form, which
is given by:
4.1. Linearized dynamics without constraints [ ] [
d dq
][ ] [ ]
0 I dq 0
= − 1 − 1 + − 1 . (106)
dt dq̇ − M K T − M D dq̇ − M df ex
To obtain the Linearized dynamics, we take the total derivative of Eq.
(75) and retain the linear terms as:
Mdq̈ + Ddq̇ + K T dq = df ex , (101) 4.2. Modal analysis of the linearized model without constraints

where K T is the tangent stiffness matrix of the beam-tensegrity structure, Let the damping term and external force vector be 0 in Eq. (101), we
which can be derived as: can obtain the free vibration response of the beam-tensegrity structure
[ ] [ ] as:
∂(K e q + Kt (n0 + q)) T ∂x ∂(Kt (n0 + q)) T
KT = = Ke + Kt + . (102) Mdq̈ + K T dq = 0. (107)
∂q ∂q ∂x

The term ∂x
∂q in Eq. (102) can be obtained by taking the partial The solution to the above equation can be written as:

Fig. 22. The 4–7th mode shapes of the sunscreen obtained by BtensegFem. The solid line sub-figures from left to right are mode 4, f= 3.7838 Hz, mode 5,
f= 10.5245 Hz, mode 6, f= 10.5245 Hz and mode 7, f= 29.2653 Hz. The dotted lines under the solid lines are shapes of the original sunscreen.

Fig. 23. The 4–7th mode shapes of the sunscreen obtained by ANSYS. The colorful sub-figures from left to right are mode 4, f= 3.7837 Hz, mode 5, f= 10.5245 Hz,
mode 6, f= 10.5245 Hz, and mode 7, f= 29.2651 Hz. The gray lines under the colorful lines are shapes of the original sunscreen.

11
S. Jian et al.
dq = ϕ sin(ϖt − η),
which represents small displacements of q as a periodic motion with
frequency ϖ. By substituting Eq. (108) into Eq. (107), we obtain:
( ) ( )
K T − ϖ 2 M ϕ sin ϖt − η = 0. (109)
Because sin(ϖt − η) ∕
= 0 the most times, we have:
K T ϕ = ϖ 2 Mϕ,
where ϖ is the frequency of the beam-tensegrity system and ϕ is the
corresponding mode.
4.3. Linearized dynamics with constraints
For the linearized dynamics with constraints, we consider the total
derivative of Eq. (87) and retain the following linear terms:
( )
ETa Mdq̈ + Ddq̇ + K T dq = ETa f ex . (111)
Substituting Eq. (82) into the above equation and rearranging the terms
related to qa on the left side, we obtain:
Maa dq̈a + K Taa dqa + Daa dq̇a = ETa f ex − Mab dq̈b − Dab dq̇b − K Tab dqb ,
where K Taa = ETa K T Ea , K Tab = ETa K T Eb .
Similarly, Eq. (112) can also be written in the standard state-space
form:
[ ] [ ][ ] In this example, we combine a tensegrity prism and three beams to
d dqa 0 I dqa
= verify that the presented dynamics can simulate the time history and
dt dq̇a − M−aa1 K Taa − M−aa1 Daa dq̇a
[ ] (113)
+ (
0
) .
− M−aa1 ETa f ex − Mab dq̈b − Dab dq̇b − K Tab dqb
4.4. Modal analysis of the linearized model with constraints
Similarly, let the damping and external terms in Eq. (112) be zeros to
derive the free-vibration response of the linearized model with
constraints:
Maa dq̈a + K Taa dqa = 0.
Using a derivation similar to that used in Section 4.2, the eigenvalue
problem of the beam-tensegrity system with constraints is obtained as:
K Taa ϕ = ϖ 2 Maa ϕ.
5. Numerical examples
In this section, we select three examples, including a cantilever
beam, tensegrity prism, and tensegrity sunscreen, with some boundary
conditions to verify the proposed dynamics of the beam-tensegrity
structure (referred to as BtensegFem). Using the proposed Btenseg­
Fem, we obtain the natural frequency and its corresponding mode, the
dynamic and static responses of the three structures. The results are
compared with those of other dynamic simulation methods, such as the
commercial FEM software ANSYS to prove the accuracy, stability, and
efficiency of BtensegFem. In this study, we apply the fourth order Runge-
Kutta method and Newton iteration method to solve the dynamics Eq.
(87) and statics Eq. (92), respectively.
5.1. Cantilever beam
First, we investigate the example of a cantilever beam. As shown in
Fig. 2(a), the rest length of the beam is 1 m, the radius of the beam is
5 × 10− 3 m, the Young’s modulus Ee is 2.06 × 1011 Pa, and the mass
density ρe is 7870 kg/m3. The 6 DOFs of Node 1 are pinned, the time step
Structures 61 (2024) 105965
(108) is 1 × 10− 6 s, the total simulation time is 1 s, gravity is ignored and q
= 0 at time t = 0 s. The mesh size nm = 10 and the external force
p = − 50 N is applied in the Z direction of Node 2 at time t = 0 s. The
damping matrix De = 0.4I. The displacement in the Z direction of Node
2 for the cantilever beam can be calculated as:
pl3
ω2z = . (116)
3Ee Iz
(110) By substituting the parameters into BtensegFem, and the commercial
FEM software ANSYS, we obtain the results for the cantilever beam. The
displacement of the coordinates for Node 2 calculated by the statics and
dynamics of BtensegFem are compared with ANSYS and Eq. (116). The
results obtained using Eq. (116), BtensegFem, and ANSYS are
− 1.64785 × 10− 1 m. The final beam shapes obtained using BtensegFem
and ANSYS are shown in Fig. 2(b) and Fig. 3. The time history curve of Z
coordinate of Node 2 obtained by dynamics is shown in Fig. 4. Table 1
lists the errors in the results obtained by these methods, which shows the
accuracy of the dynamics and statics of BtensegFem.
Fig. 5 shows the natural frequencies obtained by BtensegFem and
ANSYS. The errors between the two methods are shown in Fig. 6,
showing that the errors are less than 1.6 × 10− 3 Hz. The first four mode
shapes calculated using BtensegFem compared with ANSYS are shown in
(112) Figs. 7 and 8. Figs. 5–8 show the accuracy of the modal analysis using
BtensegFem for the beams.
5.2. Tensegrity prism with beams
modal analyses of beam-tensegrity structures with elastic materials. The
configuration of the prism with the beams is shown in Fig. 9. The ma­
terial parameters are listed in Table 2. For the damping matrix D = I, the
total simulation time is 1 s, and the time step is 1 × 10− 6 s. External
forces are applied in the Z direction of Nodes 7, 8, and 9, and the am­
plitudes are the same at − 150 N.
By substituting the parameters into BtensegFem, the final configu­
ration obtained by BtensegFem is shown in Fig. 10. The time history
curve of Z coordinate for Node 9 is shown in Fig. 11. The final values of Z
coordinates of Node 9 obtained using statics and dynamics of Btenseg­
(114) Fem are 7.23058 × 10− 1 m and 7.23059 × 10− 1 m, respectively, and
the error between statics and dynamics is 7.05 × 10− 7 m.
Because the structure has 3 nodes that are completely fixed, 27 DoFs
are free in the structure, indicating that the number of orders of vibra­
(115) tion modes is 27. The natural frequencies computed by BtensegFem and
ANSYS are compared, as shown in Fig. 12, and the errors in the results
between the two methods are shown in Fig. 13, which are less than
4 × 10− 3 Hz. The 2–5th modal shapes obtained using BtensegFem are
compared with those obtained using ANSYS, as shown in Figs. 14 and
15. Figs. 12–15 demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the modal
analysis using BtensegFem for tensegrity structures, including beams.
5.3. A tensegrity sunscreen
Fig. 16 shows the novel tensegrity sunscreen proposed in [19]. We
apply the proposed dynamics to the unfolding state of sunscreen with
external loads to validate BtensegFem on a large and complicated ten­
segrity structure with beams. The initial coordinates of the nodes can be
obtained from [39]. We fix all the DoFs of Nodes 1, 2, and 3, as shown in
Fig. 16. The bars labeled a, b, and c are treated as beams. The structure
can be simplified as shown in Fig. 17.
Wind forces with an amplitude of 3.5 kPa was applied to the sun­
screens in [19]. To approximate the simulation environment of [19], we
apply the external forces in the Z direction of Node 7–10, and the am­
plitudes of the forces on the Nodes 7–9 are − 5 × 103 N and − 2 × 104 N
on Node 10. For the damping matrix D = I, the total simulation time is
12
S. Jian et al.
1 s, and the time step is 1 × 10− 6 s. The statics of BtensegFem requires
more steps to complete the calculation because the structure has abun­
dant elements. We set 1000 steps for the calculation of the statics. The
material parameters of the structure are listed in Table 2.
The final screen configuration obtained using BtensegFem is shown
in Fig. 18. Fig. 19 shows the time and step history curves of Z coordinates
of Node 7 obtained by dynamics and statics, respectively. Figs. 18 and 19
show that both the statics and dynamics of BtensegFem converge at the
same position. The final values of Z coordinate of Node 10 obtained by
static and dynamic simulations are 1.147333 m and 1.147335 m,
respectively, and the error is 2 × 10− 6 m.
Since the sunscreen has 3 nodes that are completely fixed, there are
57 DoFs that are free in the structure, indicating that the number of
orders of the vibration modes is 57. The natural frequencies computed
by BtensegFem and ANSYS are compared, as shown in Fig. 20, and the
errors in the results between the two methods are shown in Fig. 21,
which are less than 5 × 5− 3 Hz. The 4–7th mode shapes of the sunscreen
obtained by BtensegFem are compared with ANSYS, and the results are
shown in Fig. 22 and 23. Figs. 20–23 show that the modal analysis of
BtensegFem is accurate, with acceptable errors.
6. Conclusions
This study introduces a comprehensive FEM to address the nonlinear
dynamics of tensegrity structures, inclusive of beams, based on the
Lagrangian approach. The model uses the displacements and rotations of
system nodes as global generalized coordinates. This methodology en­
ables the analysis of any tensegrity structure, including beams, under
arbitrary constraints and DoFs under varying external load conditions.
Comparisons of this approach with the analytical formula and ANSYS, a
FEM software, confirm its accuracy. For instance, the discrepancies in
the displacement calculations of the cantilever beam using BtensegFem,
the analytical formula, and ANSYS are within 10− 14~10− 12 m. The
dynamic and static results of the three examples converge to the same
point, further validating the precision and reliability of the proposed
method. The frequency error comparisons are less than 5 × 10− 3 Hz
compared to ANSYS results. Moreover, BtensegFem and ANSYS achieve
identical vibration modes in three examples. Accurate linearized dy­
namics in state-space form can be utilized in the control and signal
processing of the beam-tensegrity system, which ANSYS can-not ach­
ieve. BtensegFem can conduct an effective and accurate analysis of the
statics, dynamics, modal analysis, and linearized dynamics of beam-
tensegrity systems, which ANSYS cannot achieve all. BtensegFem is
more suitable and valid for further analysis of control problems for
beam-tensegrity structures. In conclusion, this study offers an efficient
and precise approach to beam-tensegrity simulations.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
of China [grant numbers 51875111].
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