Strand7 Software:  Galleries:  Structural:  Deployable structure

Deployable structure

Strand7 can be used to model the structural and kinematic behaviour of a deployable structure. Shown is the Strand7 model of structure, in its unloaded state. The loading is applied by progressively moving the two near free ends together.

The animation shows the tensile force in the passive cables. Note that the tension is not the same in all the cables. The cable tension is a function of the initial cable lengths and the loading aplied. In the first few frames, the cables are basically unloaded so there is only a small amount of tension due to the cables' self-weight. When the cables become taut, higher tensions are generated.

This animation shows the tensile forces developing in the tubing.