Related papers: Generation of planar tensegrity structures through…

The topology and form finding of tensegrity structures have been studied extensively since the introduction of the tensegrity concept. However, most of these studies address topology and form separately, where the former represented a…

Tensegrity structures are special architectures made by floating compressed struts kept together by a continuous system of tensed cables. The multiplicity of shapes that tensegrity structures can assume and their intrinsic capability to be…

The cytoskeleton (CSK) plays an important role in many cell functions. Given the similarities between the mechanical behavior of tensegrity structures and the CSK, many studies have proposed different tensegrity-based models for simulating…

In this article a multi-segmented planar tensegrity mechanism was presented. This mechanism has a three-segment structure with each segment residing on top of another. The size of the segments may decrease proportionally from base to top,…

This paper proposes a unified approach for dynamic modeling and simulations of general tensegrity structures with rigid bars and rigid bodies of arbitrary shapes. The natural coordinates are adopted as a non-minimal description in terms of…

A recent theory for stress transmission in isostatic granular and cellular systems predicts a constitutive equation that couples the stress field to the local microstructure. The theory could not be applied to macroscopic systems because…

This study presents a finite element analysis approach to non-linear and linearized tensegrity dynamics based on the Lagrangian method with nodal coordinate vectors as the generalized coordinates. In this paper, nonlinear tensegrity…

In this paper, we introduce a design principle to develop novel soft modular robots based on tensegrity structures and inspired by the cytoskeleton of living cells. We describe a novel strategy to realize tensegrity structures using planar…

In this paper we discuss several results about the structure of the configuration space of two-dimensional tensegrities with a small number of points. We briefly describe the technique of surgeries that is used to find geometric conditions…

Tensegrity mechanisms are composed of rigid and tensile parts that are in equilibrium. They are interesting alternative designs for some applications, such as modelling musculo-skeleton systems. Tensegrity mechanisms are more difficult to…

Through mechanical forces, biological cells remodel the surrounding collagen network, generating striking deformation patterns. Tethers-tracts of high densification and fiber alignment-form between cells, thinner bands emanate from cell…

We present a molecular dynamics study of force patterns, tensile strength and crack formation in a cohesive granular model where the particles are subjected to swelling or shrinkage gradients. Non-uniform particle size change generates…

Different cell types aggregate and sort into hierarchical architectures during the formation of animal tissues. The resulting spatial organization depends (in part) on the strength of adhesion of one cell type to itself relative to other…

Tensegrity structures have been extensively studied over the last years due to their potential applications in modern engineering like metamaterials, deployable structures, planetary lander modules, etc. Many of the form-finding methods…

Tuning of active prestress e.g. through activity of molecular motors constitutes a powerful cellular tool to adjust cellular stiffness through nonlinear material properties. Understanding this tool is an important prerequisite for our…

Biological cells can actively tune their intracellular architecture according to their overall shape. Here we explore the rheological implication of such coupling in a minimal model of a dense cellular material where each cell exerts an…

A new class of random spatial tessellations is introduced -- the so-called column tessellations of three-dimensional space. The construction is based on a stationary planar tessellation. Each cell of the spatial tessellation is a prism…

Functional structures from across the engineered and biological world combine rigid elements such as bones and columns with flexible ones such as cables, fibers and membranes. These structures are known loosely as tensegrities, since these…

Hyperuniform materials, characterized by their suppressed density fluctuations and vanishing structure factors as the wave number approaches zero, represent a unique state of matter that straddles the boundary between order and randomness.…

We report on a cellular pattern which spontaneously forms at the surface of a thin layer of a cohesive granular material submitted to in-plane stretching. We present a simple model in which the mechanism responsible of the instability is…