Design of Structures With Multiple Equilibrium Configurations

Being able to design structures with multiple equilibrium configurations is the basis for the design of multi-stable structures, which are of interest for future research on multi-configuration structures that require ‘simple’ actuation schemes. It is already known that adding elastic springs to a rigid mechanism can create structures with multiple equilibrium configurations. The spring properties, such as their rest positions, can be taken as design parameters that can be used to achieve specific equilibrium configurations of the structure. This paper provides a linearized formulation for the equilibrium constraints that can be solved for the rest positions of the springs. This method allows the design of specific equilibrium configurations. It can also handle more complex problems and is easier to solve in comparison to existent techniques. An example design of a four-bar linkage that has 5 equilibrium configurations is presented.