In tensegrity structures, compressed bars appear to float within tensioned cables. The human body, composed of bones and muscles, is one of the most beautiful examples.
Tensegrity structures have been studied extensively for decades, and some people attribute remarkable structural properties to them. Paradoxically in the world, civil structures built on the basis of tensegrity are almost nonexistent.
In order to understand the obstacles to the use of tensegrity for real structures such as bridges or footbridges, and to verify the accuracy of various calculation models, a 1/5 scale prototype of a 60m long and 12m high footbridge imagined in 2013 by the team of Prof. Pierre Latteur (Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering – IMMC) has been developed and implemented within the technology platform LEMSC (Laboratory of Mechanical Tests, Structures, and Civil Engineering) of the UCLouvain.
This prototype made of bamboos and marine ropes, of which each of the 4 modules can be deployed by only 2 persons, is the result of a PhD thesis led by Jonas Feron and a Master thesis achieved by Nicolas Bouchat and Maxime Caulier in collaboration with the company BESIX with the support of Innoviris.