ABSTRACT
Tensegrity structures are low in structural efficiency because of the introduction of the concept ‘islands of compression in a sea of tension’ in free-standing grids. Cable-strut systems are extended from tensegrity systems. The basic principle of designing cable-strut simplexes, evidently, lies in how to realize weight reduction. The weight of the resulting grid is contributed by struts, cables and joints. Improved resistant lever arms and less slack cables are preferred for the reduction of cable weight. Improved resistant lever arms can also reduce joint weight, and reducing joint density and avoiding small included angles among components are related design techniques. The narrow sense of cable-strut simplexes includes only cable-strut simplexes that can be applied to form lightweight cable-strut grids whereas the broad sense also includes tensegrity simplexes. In cable-strut simplexes, struts are allowed in contact, giving the freedom in designing short struts and/or reducing strut number. Tensegrity prisms have the feature of non-contiguous struts.
