Tensegrity Systems and Geodesic Domes
- 1 September 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in International Journal of Space Structures
- Vol. 5 (3-4), 341-351
- https://doi.org/10.1177/026635119000500315
Abstract
The name Buckminster Fuller is associated with the development of geodesic domes and with tensegrity systems. The principle of the latter is that rigidity is obtained by selfstressing alone. The shapes of domes constructed using tensegrity systems are not generally known a priori; these domes belong to the class of systems with indeterminate shape, such as cable systems. A form-finding method using the dynamic relaxation technique with attenuation of kinetic energy is presented here. The results given by this general method are compared with known solutions in certain cases and make it possible to quantify the deviations between geometries of tensegrity systems and polyhedral geometries. An example is given to illustrate the possibilities of the combination of the principle of tensegity systems with that of geodesic domes. It is a double-layer, double-curvature system whose shape respects the selfstressing criterion. Industrial construction of the system can be envisaged thanks to the design of an assembly node which permits variations in curve radius.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
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- Simultaneous static and kinematic indeterminacy of space trusses with cyclic symmetryInternational Journal of Solids and Structures, 1980
- An Introduction to TensegrityPublished by University of California Press ,1976