Assessment of the Possibility of Using the Tensegrity System in the Steel Tower Structure

Abstract

Tensegrity structures, due to their lightness and high stiffness, have been popular among architects and constructors for many years. When designing building and engineering structures, the most important stage of designing is the selection of the appropriate structural system depending on the purpose and location of the designed facility. When selecting the load- bearing structure, designers are guided by the smallest possible weight of the structure, while ensuring the safe operation of the facility, meeting all strength conditions. The article presents an analysis of the effectiveness of using the tensegrity structure for the load-bearing structure of a tower in a steel structure. The assessment of effectiveness was carried out taking into account the economy of execution and the fulfillment of the ultimate and serviceability limit conditions of individual elements of the structure for the load-bearing system of the tensegrity structure. Numerical calculations and cross-section dimensioning were performed using the finite element method in RFEM, modeling the structure in 3D.