Equilibrium position of elastic systems with two self-intersections (Q2901610)

A mechanical system consisting of \(n\) rigid bodies interconnected by elastic joints is considered. By neglecting external forces and moments, the authors study equilibrium positions for such a system. An equilibrium position is found for the case when the symmetry axes of all bodies are complanar and have points of intersection. Such a configuration is called the ``double figure eight'' by the authors. A particular case of a system of five rigid bodies is analyzed in details. For this case, the domain of mechanical parameters ensuring the existence of the above equilibrium is constructed.