Symbolic manipulation as a tool for design of deployable domes

Deployable structures are prefabricated space frames consisting of straight bars linked together in the factory as a compact bundle, which can then be unfolded into large-span, load-bearing structural forms by simple articulation. The specific deployable structures investigated in this study are characterized by being self-standing and stress-free when fully closed or fully deployed. In order to achieve this behaviour, a detailed geometric design is required which consists of deriving and solving sets of nonlinear geometric and trigonometric equations. The symbolic manipulation package Mathematica is used for the geometric design of near-spherical deployable structures. This application demonstrates the great potential of symbolic manipulation as a tool for engineering design. (C) 1997 Civil-Comp Ltd and Elsevier Science Ltd.