Asymptotic analysis of an elastic rod with rounded ends

We derive a one-dimensional model for an elastic shuttle, that is, a thin rod with rounded ends and small fixed terminals, by means of an asymptotic procedure of dimension reduction. In the model, deformation of the shuttle is described by a system of ordinary differential equations with variable degenerating coefficients, and the number of the required boundary conditions at the end points of the one-dimensional image of the rod depends on the roundness exponent m∈(0,1). Error estimates are obtained in the case m∈(0,1/4) by using an anisotropic weighted Korn inequality, which was derived in an earlier paper by the authors. We also briefly discuss boundary layer effects, which can be neglected in the case m∈(0,1/4) but play a crucial role in the formulation of the limit problem for m ≥ 1/4.     

Nonlinear deformations of a slender rod rotated at one end

Summary A thin elastic rod is rotated at one end. The nonlinear deformations due to centrifugal forces are studied. The problem is governed by a nondimensional parameterJ which signifies the relative importance of rotation to flexibility, and the angle a between the rotation axis and the clamped end. The nonlinear differential equations are solved by three different perturbations and also numerical integration for the rangeJ5. Force, moment and displacement characteristics are determined. The solutions are unique for smallJ. Three solutions are possible, one may be unstable, for largerJ. Catastrophic changes may occur whenJ is decreased.     

Equilibrium configurations of a thin elastic rod with self‐contacts

Spatial equilibria of a closed thin isotropic elastic rod are considered. The thin elastic rod is a classical model for the large‐scale structure of relatively long DNA molecules. Particular attention is paid to the shapes with self‐contacts which are assembled from the elementary loops.     

Optimal Kinematics of a Looped Filament

New kinematics of supercoiling of closed filaments as solutions of the elastic energy minimization are proposed. The analysis is based on the thin rod approximation of the linear elastic theory, under conservation of the self-linking number. The elastic energy is evaluated by means of bending contribution and torsional influence. Time evolution functions are described by means of piecewise polynomial transformations based on cubic spline functions. In contrast with traditional interpolation, the parameters, which define the cubic splines representing the evolution functions, are considered as the unknowns in a nonlinear optimization problem. We show how the coiling process is associated with conversion of mean twist energy into bending energy through the passage by an inflexional configuration in relation to geometric characteristics of the filament evolution. These results provide new insights on the folding mechanism and associated energy contents and may find useful applications in folding of macromolecules and DNA packing in cell biology.     

Interaction of a harmonic torsional wave with ring-shaped defects in an elastic body

We have solved the problem of determination of the stressed state in an isotropic elastic body near ring-shaped defects (a crack or a thin rigid inclusion) as a result of the action of a harmonic torsional wave. The method of solution is based on the use of discontinuous solutions of the equation of torsional vibrations and lies in the reduction of the initial boundary-value problems to integral equations for the unknown jumps of angular displacement or tangential stress.     

Tendril Perversion in Intrinsically Curved Rods

Summary. A straight elastic rod with intrinsic curvature under varying tension can undergo an instability and bifurcate to a filament made out of two helices with opposite handedness. This inversion of handedness, known as perversion, appears in a wide range of biological and physical systems and is investigated here within the framework of thin elastic rods described by the static Kirchhoff equations. In this context, a perversion is represented by a heteroclinic orbit joining asymptotically two fixed points representing helices with opposite torsion. A center manifold reduction and a normal form transformation for a triple zero eigenvalue reduce the dynamics to a third-order reversible dynamical system. The analysis of this reduced system reveals that the heteroclinic connection representing the physical solution results from the collapse of pairs of symmetric homoclinic orbits. Results of the normal form calculation are compared with numerical solutions obtained by continuation methods. The possibility of self-contact and the elastic characteristics of the perverted rod are also studied.     

基于精确Cosserat模型的螺旋杆稳定性分析

弹性杆的螺旋线平衡问题在DNA、纤维、海底电缆和输油管线等方面具有应用背景.Kirchhoff动力学比拟是分析弹性细杆平衡稳定性的有效方法.Kirchhoff模型中包括中心线无拉伸变形和截面无剪切变形的基本假定与生物大分子等软物质的实际状况有较大差异.基于精确Cosserat模型,考虑中心线的拉伸压缩变形和截面剪切变形,以及剪切变形引起杆中心线转动导致切线轴相对截面法线轴的偏离,以Euler角表达截面姿态,建立圆截面弹性杆的动力学普遍方程.在静力学范畴内讨论螺旋线平衡状态的Liapunov稳定性和Euler稳定性问题,导出稳定性条件及轴向力和扭矩的Euler临界值.证明螺旋杆平衡的静态Liapunov稳定性和Euler稳定性条件是动态Liapunov稳定性的必要条件.     

Analytic form of optimal boundary controls of transverse vibrations of a rod consisting of several parts with different densities and elasticities but with the same impedances

We consider the problem of optimal boundary displacement control (control minimizing the boundary energy functional) of an elastic rod consisting of several parts with different densities and elasticities but with the same impedances. We obtain a closed-form expression for the optimal control bringing the rod from an arbitrarily given initial state to an arbitrarily given terminal state in a given time T.     

The limits of hamiltonian structures in three-dimensional elasticity,shells, and rods

Summary This paper uses Hamiltonian structures to study the problem of the limit of three-dimensional (3D) elastic models to shell and rod models. In the case of shells, we show that the Hamiltonian structure for a three-dimensional elastic body converges, in a sense made precise, to that for a shell model described by a one-director Cosserat surface as the thickness goes to zero. We study limiting procedures that give rise to unconstrained as well as constrained Cosserat director models. The case of a rod is also considered and similar convergence results are established, with the limiting model being a geometrically exact director rod model (in the framework developed by Antman, Simo, and coworkers). The resulting model may or may not have constraints, depending on the nature of the constitutive relations and their behavior under the limiting procedure. The closeness of Hamiltonian structures is measured by the closeness of Poisson brackets on certain classes of functions, as well as the Hamiltonians. This provides one way of justifying the dynamic one-director model for shells. Another way of stating the convergence result is that there is an almost-Poisson embedding from the phase space of the shell to the phase space of the 3D elastic body, which implies that, in the sense of Hamiltonian structures, the dynamics of the elastic body is close to that of the shell. The constitutive equations of the 3D model and their behavior as the thickness tends to zero dictates whether the limiting 2D model is a constrained or an unconstrained director model. We apply our theory in the specific case of a 3D Saint Venant-Kirchhoff material andderive the corresponding limiting shell and rod theories. The limiting shell model is an interesting Kirchhoff-like shell model in which the stored energy function is explicitly derived in terms of the shell curvature. For rods, one gets (with an additional inextensibility constraint) a one-director Kirchhoff elastic rod model, which reduces to the well-known Euler elastica if one adds an additional single constraint that the director lines up with the Frenet frame. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Juan C. Simo This paper was solicited by the editors to be part of a volume dedicated to the memory of Juan Simo.     

Mild solutions for abstract fractional differential equations

We propose a unified functional analytic approach to derive a variation of constants formula for a wide class of fractional differential equations using results on (a,?k)-regularized families of bounded and linear operators, which covers as particular cases the theories of C ₀-semigroups and cosine families. Using this approach we study the existence of mild solutions to fractional differential equation with nonlocal conditions. We also investigate the asymptotic behaviour of mild solutions to abstract composite fractional relaxation equations. We include in our analysis the Basset and Bagley–Torvik equations.     

夹层结构杆在弹性基础上的弹塑性变形

对位于弹性基底上的、具有可压缩非线性芯子的3层弹塑性杆的弯曲问题进行了研究．研究分析了由2个受力层和1个芯子层组成的3层构件的力学响应．解决了位于弹性基底上的3层杆弯曲的复杂问题．对所给出的弹性解法进行了收敛性检验,以保证该弹性解是可以接受的．计算结果表明,材料的塑性和物理非线性对位于弹性基底上的夹层结构杆的变形影响很大．     

Asymptotic Behavior of a Structure Made by a Plate and a Straight Rod

This paper is devoted to describing the asymptotic behavior of a structure made by a thin plate and a thin perpendicular rod in the framework of nonlinear elasticity. The authors scale the applied forces in such a way that the level of the total elastic energy leads to the Von-K′arm′an’s equations (or the linear model for smaller forces) in the plate and to a one-dimensional rod-model at the limit. The junction conditions include in particular the continuity of the bending in the plate and the stretching in the rod at the junction.     

Korn inequality for a thin rod with rounded ends

We consider an elastic rod with rounded ends and diameter proportional to a small parameter h > 0. The roundness of the ends is described by an exponent m ∈ (0,1). We derive for the rod an asymptotically sharp Korn inequality with a special weighted anisotropic norm. Weight factors with m‐dependent powers of h appear both in the anisotropic norm and the Korn inequality itself, and we discover three critical values m = 1 ∕ 4, m = 1 ∕ 2 and m = 3 ∕ 4 at which these exponents are crucially changed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Traveling Waves in Elastic Rods with Arbitrary Curvature and Torsion

The dynamic Kirchhoff equations, describing a thin elastic rod of infinite length, are considered in connection with the study of the conformations of polymeric chains. A?novel special traveling wave solution that can be interpreted as a conformational soliton propagating at constant speed is obtained, featuring arbitrary non-constant curvature and torsion of the rod, in the simple case of constant cross-section, homogeneous density and elastic isotropy. This traveling wave corresponds to a specific constraint on the twist-to-bend ratio of the constant stiffness parameters, which in turn appears to be compatible with the experimental evidence for the mechanical properties of real polymeric chains. Due to such a constraint, the square of the velocity of the solitary wave is directly proportional to the bending stiffness and inversely proportional to the density and to the principal momentum of inertia of the rod. Several applications to the study of conformational changes in polymeric chains are given.     

Computation of anisotropic plates with curvilinear holes reinforced by prestressed rods

We consider the stressed state of an anisotropic plate with an elliptic hole whose boundary is reinforced by a prestressed curvilinear rod of arbitrary cross section symmetric with respect to the middle plane of the plate. The elastic equilibrium of the rod is described by the equations of the theory of curvilinear rods. The solution of the problem is reduced to a system of linear algebraic equations. We show the influence of prestressing on the stressed states of the bodies.Translated fromMatematicheskie Metody i Fiziko-Mekhanicheskie Polya, Issue 36, 1992, pp. 76–80.     

Junction problem for elastic and rigid inclusions in elastic bodies

An equilibrium problem for an elastic body is considered. It is assumed that the body has a thin elastic inclusion and a thin rigid inclusion. We analyze a junction problem assuming that the inclusions have a joint point. Different equivalent problem formulations are discussed, and existence of solutions is proved. A set of junction conditions is found. We investigate a convergence to infinity and to zero of a rigidity parameter of the elastic inclusion. A delamination of the elastic inclusion is also investigated. In this case, inequality‐type boundary conditions are imposed at the crack faces to prevent a mutual penetration between crack faces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The oscillations of a rod in an inhomogeneous elastic medium

The local length-dependence of the natural frequencies and forms of plane transverse oscillations of a thin inhomogeneous rod in an elastic medium with a variable stiffness and arbitrary elastic-fastening boundary conditions is investigated. It is established that the presence of an external elastic medium, described by the Winkler model, can lead to an anomalous effect – an increase in the natural frequencies of lower oscillation modes as the length of the rod increases continuously. The extremely fine properties of this change as a function of the length, the mode number and the method of fastening are revealed. The oscillations in the case of standard methods of fastening are investigated separately. Simple examples, which illustrate the anomalous dependence of the natural oscillation frequencies of the rod in an extremely inhomogeneous elastic medium with different boundary conditions are calculated.     

Group Classifications, Symmetry Reductions and Exact Solutions to the Nonlinear Elastic Rod Equations

In this paper, the Lie symmetry analysis are performed on the three nonlinear elastic rod (NER) equations. The complete group classifications of the generalized nonlinear elastic rod equations are obtained. The symmetry reductions and exact solutions to the equations are presented. Furthermore, by means of dynamical system and power series methods, the exact explicit solutions to the equations are investigated. It is shown that the combination of Lie symmetry analysis and dynamical system method is a feasible approach to deal with symmetry reductions and exact solutions to nonlinear PDEs.     

On the vibrations described by the telegraph equation in the case of a system consisting of several parts of different densities and elasticities

We consider mixed initial-boundary value problems for longitudinal vibrations described by the telegraph equation in the case of a system consisting of several parts with different densities and elasticities but with equal impedances. We consider the cases of control by displacements at both endpoints of the rod, by elastic forces at both endpoints, and by an elastic force at one endpoint and a displacement at the other endpoint. We find closed-form expressions for the solutions of these mixed problems.