Abstract
The geometrical configurations of statically determinate trusses having the same topology but different member lengths are not the same. This suggests that the truss structure may work as a flexible arm by actively changing the length of each member, resulting in a highly multiple-degree-of-freedom system, with each member contributing one degree of freedom. The aim of this paper is to establish the fundamental concept and the formulae to describe the dynamic motion of the truss-type arm system. The incremental relationship for kinematic motion is described first. A Lagrangian approach is used to establish the equations of motion within the context of an extended matrix structural analysis; the kinematic degrees of freedom are the same as those of the Structural deformation. Numerical simulations of the kinematic and elastic motion of the arm are included.
