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From: "bob burkhardt" <bobnowbspam@lycos.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 08:50:15 -0500
Subject: Re: tensegrity....

Hi Stu,

When I develop a geometry and reach a solution, I try for a situation where the tensions in the members are fairly evenly distributed. This is mostly because I use the same material for all the tendons and for all the struts. I could have uneven tensions and just use stronger material for the more tensed ones. So once I have a solution, I can scale the tension up and down. The average tension is just a scale factor. At this point just pretensioning is taken into account. All the members are assumed to be weightless. The next point in the procedure is to introduce the static loads. Like you say, if I don't have enough tension in the first step, the loads in the second step will seriously deform the structure and maybe make some of the tendons go slack. So I go for as much pretension as I can get with my materials.

I'll be interested to play with your structure. I may be pretty slow about it since I have a big project I'm working on for Lycos, but I do have a new machine I'd like to get my software working on so that will be an incentive as well as my curiousity about Ken's structures.

Bob

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