Minimal mass design of a new cable truss in two states

•Topology and configuration of a new class of cable trusses are proposed.•The new class of cable trusses can be parameterized into four variables.•Potential of the new class of cable trusses in saving mass is explained.•Minimal mass design method of the cable truss in loading and unloading states is studied.•Optimization of configuration and complexity of the cable truss is conducted. In this paper, we focus on the minimal mass design of a new cable truss structure to support concentrated vertical loads within a given span, considering both loading and unloading states. The topology and configuration of a new kind of cable truss are proposed and parameterized by several variables. The potential of the new kind of cable truss in saving mass is then explained. Structure members in symmetric positions that have the same forces are guarantee by a group matrix. The minimal mass design in loading and unloading states subject to yielding and buckling constraints is studied. Optimization of topology and configuration of the cable truss is then processed by a constrained nonlinear optimization method in terms of structure parameters. Mass of the roof and joints are added as a penalty to the total mass. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method are demonstrated by numerical examples.