Solitary wave dynamics of chains of bistable tensegrity prisms

This work investigates the propagation of nonlinear mechanical waves in chains of bistable tensegrity prisms subjected to impact loading. The analyzed systems consist of all-bar tensegrity prism units exhibiting bistable axial force–displacement responses with either softening or stiffening behavior, alternated with lumped masses. Numerical simulations are performed on finite chains to examine the formation, propagation, and attenuation of strain waves. The chain composed of thick prisms displays a softening bistable response, leading to the propagation of compressive axial strain waves with oscillatory tails and progressive attenuation. In contrast, chains composed of slender prisms exhibit a stiffening bistable response and support the propagation of localized compression pulses accompanied by limited background oscillations. Unlike classical bistable mass–spring chains, the tensegrity systems considered here exhibit intrinsically coupled axial and twisting motions. Nevertheless, the numerical results show good qualitative agreement between the impact-induced dynamic response of the analyzed systems and existing results in the literature on solitary-wave dynamics in bistable one-dimensional lattices. The distinctive wave behavior of bistable tensegrity lattices highlights their potential for applications involving wave focusing and controlled energy transmission and localization.