Abstract:
The Air-Ten Module is a pavilion-scale prototype that validated inflatable tensegrity structures are not only physically possible at large scale, but also able to "self-assemble” by inflating their compression struts. Though highly experimental, the imagined applications of such structures in aggregate include disaster relief structures, floating ocean trash collectors, drone infrastructure, planetary rovers, and solar-powered satellites.
Link to the full paper “Self-Deploying Tensegrity Structures with Inflatable Struts” (IASS 2019)
Link to the full paper “Deployable Tensegrity Structures using Pneumatic Compression Members” (S-Arch 2019)
The Air-Ten Module is a pavilion-scale prototype that validated inflatable tensegrity structures are not only physically possible at large scale, but also able to "self-assemble” by inflating their compression struts. Though highly experimental, the imagined applications of such structures in aggregate include disaster relief structures, floating ocean trash collectors, drone infrastructure, planetary rovers, and solar-powered satellites.
Link to the full paper “Self-Deploying Tensegrity Structures with Inflatable Struts” (IASS 2019)
Link to the full paper “Deployable Tensegrity Structures using Pneumatic Compression Members” (S-Arch 2019)
Lightweight Pavilion Structure
Barcelona, Spain and Manhattan, Kansas - 2019
Collaborators:
Michael Koliner, Vinay Teja Meda, and Jim Case
IASS 2019 Pavilion - Photographed at Kansas State Univerity; Exhibited October 2019 in Barcelona, Spain
Photo by JDO
The research leading to this inflatable tensegrity structure has been centered around developing material schemas for high-performance air-struts. As the tensegrity structure is loaded, the inflated compression struts tend to deform and buckle. Our investigation focused on developing novel strategies for buckling resistance in these low-pressure struts. The pavilion extends the concept of inflatable tensegrity structures by physically demonstrating it at large scale - within the spatial limits of the exhibition guidelines of 4m x 4m x 4m. The structure demonstrates how combining the advantages of tensegrity and pneumatic structures results in a minimum weight structure that maximizes its global volume change before and after it is deployed.
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