On Statics of Elastic Systems and Networks of Rigid Bodies.

Abstract

Elastic networks consist of rigid bodies interconnected with generalized springs. Allowing more general interactions leads to a theory of rigid body systems. Stiffness of an elastic system is defined and computed. Compactification of the space of such systems is conveniently interpreted in a grassmannian framework as the set of all Lagrangian planes in the displacement-force space. This compactified space consists of systems which may be constrained by holonomic constraints.