Bifurcation of inflated circular cylinders of elastic material under axial loading—I. Membrane theory for thin-walled tubes

Bifurcations of circular cylindrical elastic tubes subjected to inflation combined with axial loading are analysed. Membrane tubes are considered in detail as a background to the more difficult analysis of thickwalled tubes described in the companion paper (Part II). Our results for membranes reinforce and extend those given by R.T. Shield and his co-workers.Two modes of bifurcation are investigated: firstly, a bulging (axisyrmmetric) mode; secondly, a prismatic mode in which the cross-section of the tube becomes non-circular. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of modes of either type are given in respect of an arbitrary (incompressible isotropic) form of elastic strain-energy function. For a closed tube with a fixed axial loading many features of the results have close parallels with recent findings by D.M. Haughton and R.W. Ogden for spherical membranes. On the other hand, some results for tubes with fixed ends have no such parallel. In particular, bifurcation may, under certain conditions, occur before the inflating pressure reaches a maximum. A combination of the two modes is interpreted in terms of bending for a tube under axial compression, and the relative importance of the bending and bulging modes is discussed in relation to the length to radius ratio of the tube. The analytical results are illustrated for specific forms of strain-energy function. Corresponding analysis is given for thick-walled tubes in Part II.     

Asymmetric bifurcations of thick-walled circular cylindrical elastic tubes under axial loading and external pressure

In this paper, we consider bifurcation from a circular cylindrical deformed configuration of a thick-walled circular cylindrical tube of incompressible isotropic elastic material subject to combined axial loading and external pressure. In particular, we examine both axisymmetric and asymmetric modes of bifurcation. The analysis is based on the three-dimensional incremental equilibrium equations, which are derived and then solved numerically for a specific material model using the Adams–Moulton method. We assess the effects of wall thickness and the ratio of length to (external) radius on the bifurcation behaviour.     

Extension,inflation and torsion of a residually stressed circular cylindrical tube

In this paper, we provide a new example of the solution of a finite deformation boundary-value problem for a residually stressed elastic body. Specifically, we analyse the problem of the combined extension, inflation and torsion of a circular cylindrical tube subject to radial and circumferential residual stresses and governed by a residual-stress dependent nonlinear elastic constitutive law. The problem is first of all formulated for a general elastic strain-energy function, and compact expressions in the form of integrals are obtained for the pressure, axial load and torsional moment required to maintain the given deformation. For two specific simple prototype strain-energy functions that include residual stress, the integrals are evaluated to give explicit closed-form expressions for the pressure, axial load and torsional moment. The dependence of these quantities on a measure of the radial strain is illustrated graphically for different values of the parameters (in dimensionless form) involved, in particular the tube thickness, the amount of torsion and the strength of the residual stress. The results for the two strain-energy functions are compared and also compared with results when there is no residual stress.     

Finite elastic deformations of transversely isotropic circular cylindrical tubes

We consider the finite radially symmetric deformation of a circular cylindrical tube of a homogeneous transversely isotropic elastic material subject to axial stretch, radial deformation and torsion, supported by axial load, internal pressure and end moment. Two different directions of transverse isotropy are considered: the radial direction and an arbitrary direction in planes normal locally to the radial direction, the only directions for which the considered deformation is admissible in general. In the absence of body forces, formulas are obtained for the internal pressure, and the resultant axial load and torsional moment on the ends of the tube in respect of a general strain-energy function. For a specific material model of transversely isotropic elasticity, and material and geometrical parameters, numerical results are used to illustrate the dependence of the pressure, (reduced) axial load and moment on the radial stretch and a measure of the torsional deformation for a fixed value of the axial stretch.     

The dynamic response of an incompressible non-linearly elastic membrane tube subjected to a dynamic extension

The dynamic response of an isotropic hyperelastic membrane tube, subjected to a dynamic extension at its one end, is studied. In the first part of the paper, an asymptotic expansion technique is used to derive a non-linear membrane theory for finite axially symmetric dynamic deformations of incompressible non-linearly elastic circular cylindrical tubes by starting from the three-dimensional elasticity theory. The equations governing dynamic axially symmetric deformations of the membrane tube are obtained for an arbitrary form of the strain-energy function. In the second part of the paper, finite amplitude wave propagation in an incompressible hyperelastic membrane tube is considered when one end is fixed and the other is subjected to a suddenly applied dynamic extension. A Godunov-type finite volume method is used to solve numerically the corresponding problem. Numerical results are given for the Mooney-Rivlin incompressible material. The question how the present numerical results are related to those obtained in the literature is discussed.     

Elastic instability of a uniformly compressed annular plate with axisymmetric initial deflection

This paper presents a theoretical study of the elastic instability of a uniformly compressed, thin, circular annular plate with axisymmetric initial deflection. The dynamic version of the nonlinear Marguerre plate theory is used, and the linear free vibration problems around the axisymmetric finite deformation of the plate are solved by a finite difference method. By examining the frequency spectrum with various asymmetric modes, the critical compressive load under which the axisymmetric additional deformation of the plate becomes unstable due to the bifurcation buckling is determined, which is found to depend severely on the magnitude of the axisymmetric initial deflection.     

Inhomogeneous shearing of strain-stiffening rubber-like hollow circular cylinders

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of strain-stiffening for the classical problems of axial and azimuthal shearing of a hollow circular cylinder composed of an incompressible isotropic non-linearly elastic material. For some specific strain-energy densities that give rise to strain-stiffening in the stress–stretch response, the stresses and resultant axial forces are obtained in explicit closed form. While such results are well known for classical constitutive models such as the Mooney–Rivlin and neo-Hookean models, our main focus is on materials that undergo severe strain-stiffening in the stress–stretch response. In particular, we consider in detail two phenomenological constitutive models that reflect limiting chain extensibility at the molecular level and involve constraints on the deformation. The amount of shearing that tubes composed of such materials can sustain is limited by the constraint. Numerical results are also obtained for an exponential strain-energy that exhibits a less abrupt strain-stiffening effect. Potential applications of the results to the biomechanics of soft tissues are indicated.     

Post-bifurcation of perfect and imperfect spherical elastic membranes

When a spherical elastic membrane is inflated it is well known that it may bifurcate into an aspherical mode after the pressure maximum is reached. Upon further inflation the spherical configuration is regained. Here we follow the developing aspherical solution path, for specific forms of strain-energy function, using a simple numerical method. For a realistic strain-energy function it is shown that the post-bifurcation solution curve connects the two bifurcation points. We also consider the inflation of imperfect spherical membranes and show that bifurcation may still occur. For the class of Ogden materials we investigate the asymptotic shape of arbitrary axisymmetric membranes.     

Nonlinear axisymmetric deformations of an elastic tube under external pressure

The problem of the finite axisymmetric deformation of a thick-walled circular cylindrical elastic tube subject to pressure on its external lateral boundaries and zero displacement on its ends is formulated for an incompressible isotropic neo-Hookean material. The formulation is fully nonlinear and can accommodate large strains and large displacements. The governing system of nonlinear partial differential equations is derived and then solved numerically using the C++ based object-oriented finite element library Libmesh. The weighted residual-Galerkin method and the Newton-Krylov nonlinear solver are adopted for solving the governing equations. Since the nonlinear problem is highly sensitive to small changes in the numerical scheme, convergence was obtained only when the analytical Jacobian matrix was used. A Lagrangian mesh is used to discretize the governing partial differential equations. Results are presented for different parameters, such as wall thickness and aspect ratio, and comparison is made with the corresponding linear elasticity formulation of the problem, the results of which agree with those of the nonlinear formulation only for small external pressure. Not surprisingly, the nonlinear results depart significantly from the linear ones for larger values of the pressure and when the strains in the tube wall become large. Typical nonlinear characteristics exhibited are the “corner bulging” of short tubes, and multiple modes of deformation for longer tubes.     

Yield anisotropy effects on buckling of circular tubes under bending

Relatively thin-walled tubes bent into the plastic range buckle by axial wrinkling. The wrinkles initially grow stably but eventually localize and cause catastrophic failure in the form of sharp local kinking. The onset of axial wrinkling was previously established by bifurcation analyses that use instantaneous deformation theory moduli. The curvatures at bifurcation were predicted accurately, but the wrinkle wavelengths were consistently longer than measured values. The subject is revisited with the aim of resolving this discrepancy. A set of new bending experiments is conducted on aluminum alloy tubes. The results are shown to be in line with previous ones. However, the tubes used were found to exhibit plastic anisotropy, which was measured and characterized through Hill’s quadratic anisotropic yield function. The anisotropy was incorporated in the flow theory used for prebuckling and postbuckling calculations as well as in the deformation theory used for bifurcation checks. With the anisotropy accounted for, calculated tube responses are found to be in excellent agreement with the measured ones while the predicted bifurcation curvatures and wrinkle wavelengths fall in line with the measurements also. The postbuckling response is established using a finite element model of a tube assigned an initial axisymmetric imperfection with the calculated wavelength. The response develops a limit moment that is followed by a sharp kink that grows while the overall moment drops. The curvature at the limit moment agrees well with the experimental onset of failure. From parametric studies of the various instabilities it is concluded that, for optimum predictions, anisotropy must be incorporated in both bifurcation buckling as well as in postbuckling calculations.     

Bifurcation conditions for a thick elastic plate under thrust

A thick rectangular plate of incompressible isotropic elastic material is subjected to a pure homogeneous deformation by tensile forces or thrusts applied to a pair of opposite faces. The theory of small deformations superposed on finite deformations is applied to determine the critical conditions under which bifurcation solutions (i.e. adjacent equilibrium positions) can exist. The adjacent equilibrium positions considered are those for which the superposed deformation is two-dimensional and is coplanar with the loading force and the thickness direction of the plate, the faces of the plate normal to its thickness being force-free. A number of theorems relating to the critical conditions for superposed deformations of the flexural and barreling types are derived under conditions on the strain-energy function more general than those employed in earlier work. It is also shown how these results can be applied to the determination of the bifurcation conditions corresponding to any specified strain-energy function.     

Linear stability of viscous incompressible flow in a circular viscoelastic tube

Flow stability in rigid tubes has been the subject of much research [1]. The overwhelming majority of authors of both theoretical and experimental studies now conclude that Poiseuille flow in a circular rigid tube is linearly stable. However, real tubes all possess elastic properties, the influence of which has not been investigated in such detail. For certain selected values of the parameters characterizing an elastic tube it has been shown that with respect to infinitesimal axisymmetric perturbations Poiseuille flow in the tube can be unstable [2]. In this case boundary conditions that did not take into account the fairly large velocity gradient of the undisturbed flow near the tube wall were used. The present paper reports the results of a numerical investigation of the linear stability of Poiseuille flow in a circular elastic tube with respect to three-dimensional perturbations in the form of traveling waves propagated along the system (azimuthal perturbation modes with numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are considered). It is shown that the elastic properties of the tube can have an important influence on the linear stability spectrum. In the case of axisymmetric perturbations it is possible to detect an instability which, at Reynolds numbers of more than 200, exists only for tubes whose modulus of elasticity is substantially less than that of materials in common use. The instability to perturbations of the second azimuthal mode is different in character, inasmuch as at Reynolds numbers greater than unity it occurs in stiffer tubes. Moreover, as the Reynolds number increases it can also occur in tubes of greater stiffness. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 126–134, November–December, 1986.     

Stability and vibration of empty and fluid-filled circular cylindrical shells under static and periodic axial loads

In the present study, the dynamic stability of simply supported, circular cylindrical shells subjected to dynamic axial loads is analysed. Geometric nonlinearities due to finite-amplitude shell motion are considered by using the Donnell’s nonlinear shallow-shell theory. The effect of structural damping is taken into account. A discretization method based on a series expansion involving a relatively large number of linear modes, including axisymmetric and asymmetric modes, and on the Galerkin procedure is developed. Axisymmetric modes are included; indeed, they are essential in simulating the inward deflection of the mean oscillation with respect to the equilibrium position and in describing the axisymmetric deflection due to axial loads. A finite length, simply supported shell is considered; the boundary conditions are satisfied, including the contribution of external axial loads acting at the shell edges. The effect of a contained liquid is investigated. The linear dynamic stability and nonlinear response are analysed by using continuation techniques and direct simulations.     

Study of bifurcation in a pressurized hyperelastic membrane tube enclosed by a soft substrate

We model a perivascular supported arterial tube as a uniform cylindrical membrane tube enclosed by a soft substrate, and derive the solution bifurcation criterion. We assume the surrounding soft substrate as an elastic foundation with distributed stiffness. We consider the tube to be a neo-Hookean material with isotropic and anisotropic (orthotropic) properties, and study solution bifurcation at a constant axial stretch. In the isotropic case, the surrounding soft substrate can substantially delay the onset of bifurcation through a subcritical jump in circular distension at bifurcation with increasing substrate stiffness. Introduction of anisotropy can significantly change the jump behavior from subcritical to supercritical.     

Creep buckling of axially compressed circular cylindrical shells of a zirconium alloy: Experiment and computer simulation

Experiments were performed to study the deformation and buckling of axially compressed circular cylindrical shells of Zr2.5Nb zirconium alloy under creep conditions. Computer simulation using the MSC.Marc 2012 software was conducted by step-by-step integration of the equations of quasistatic deformation of thin shells using Norton’s law of steady creep. The results of the experiment and computer simulation show that the buckling modes are a combination of axisymmetric bulges located near one end or both ends of the shell and axisymmetric buckling modes with the formation of three or four waves in the circumferential direction. A comparison is made of the time dependences of the axial strain of the shells obtained in the experiment and by computer simulation. It is shown that for large axial compressive stresses, these dependences are in satisfactory agreement. For lower values of these stresses, the difference between the theoretical and experimental dependences is greater.     

On rubber disks under rotation or axisymmetric stretching

The governing equations for a class of axisymmetric problems under large elastic deformation, concerned with a circular rubber disk with body force as well as non-uniform initial thickness, are formulated in terms of two coupled first-order ordinary differential equations with explicit derivatives. The following two problems subjected to different boundary conditions are solved: (a) Rotating disks with uniform initial thickness (b) Circular disks with non-uniform initial thickness under axisymmetric stretching at the outer boundary. In problem (b), the rubber disk whose initial thickness contour is h₀ = crⁿ (where c and n are any constants), or whose final thickness is a constant, is considered. Highly elastic materials with a Mooney strain-energy function are used for numerical calculations.     

安全壳中钢衬壳热屈曲问题理论与实验研究(Ⅱ)──实验部分

钢衬壳热屈曲问题是核工程安全壳设计中的主要问题,但实验研究方面的文章发表得不多文中以200兆瓦核电站安全壳中钢衬壳为研究对象,采用局部1：1模型,测得了钢衬壳热屈曲温度和应变载荷,给出了钢衬壳屈曲和初始后屈曲过程中挠度和温度关系、以及膜应变和温度关系,实验测得钢衬壳具有局域屈曲的现象,实验屈曲载荷与理论结果符合较好     

Shear of rubber tube springs

Rubber tube springs consist basically of cylindrical rubber tubes bonded on their inner and outer curved surfaces to rigid cylindrical tubes. They are widely used as flexible linkages, for example in vehicle suspensions. Rotation of one rigid tube with respect to the other about their common axis subjects the rubber tube to azimuthal shear. Displacement of one rigid tube with respect to the other along their common axis puts the rubber tube into axial shear. Using FEA, we have calculated the stresses set up in both cases, for a long rubber tube of a non-linearly elastic (neo-Hookean) material. The results are compared for the two modes of deformation, and with analytical predictions where available. For a long tube the shear stresses are substantially independent of the end conditions, but the normal stresses are strongly affected, as found previously for sheared rectangular blocks [A.N. Gent, J.B. Suh, S.G. Kelly III, Mechanics of rubber shear springs, Int. J. Nonlinear Mech. 42 (2007) 241-249]. If the end surfaces are stress-free, unexpectedly large normal stresses are generated, even in azimuthal shear. These high tensile stresses are attributed to restraints at the inner and outer cylindrical boundaries that compensate for the absence of stresses on the end surfaces that would be needed to maintain a simple shear deformation. Thus, the boundary conditions affect the stresses everywhere (in contrast to an “end effect” that would diminish away from the ends). Small departures from complete incompressibility are found to lower the internal stresses markedly, and even cause the sign of the stresses to be reversed.     

Effect of the geometry on the non-linear vibration of circular cylindrical shells

The non-linear vibration of simply supported, circular cylindrical shells is analysed. Geometric non-linearities due to finite-amplitude shell motion are considered by using Donnell's non-linear shallow-shell theory; the effect of viscous structural damping is taken into account. A discretization method based on a series expansion of an unlimited number of linear modes, including axisymmetric and asymmetric modes, following the Galerkin procedure, is developed. Both driven and companion modes are included, allowing for travelling-wave response of the shell. Axisymmetric modes are included because they are essential in simulating the inward mean deflection of the oscillation with respect to the equilibrium position. The fundamental role of the axisymmetric modes is confirmed and the role of higher order asymmetric modes is clarified in order to obtain the correct character of the circular cylindrical shell non-linearity. The effect of the geometric shell characteristics, i.e., radius, length and thickness, on the non-linear behaviour is analysed: very short or thick shells display a hardening non-linearity; conversely, a softening type non-linearity is found in a wide range of shell geometries.     

The Effect of Elastic Surface Coating on the Finite Deformation and Bifurcation of a Pressurized Circular Annulus

A plane-strain theory of an elastic solid coated with a thin elastic film on part or all of its boundary was developed recently by Steigmann and Ogden (1997a). In this paper the theory is applied to the (plane-strain) problem of a thick-walled circular cylindrical tube which is subject to both internal and external pressure and which has an elastic coating on one or both of its circular cylindrical boundaries. The effect of the coating on the symmetrical response of the annular cross-section of the tube is determined first. It is noted, in particular, that while the pressure may exhibit a maximum followed by a minimum during inflation for an uncoated tube it may be a monotonic increasing function of the radius for a coated tube with coating elastic modulus sufficiently large. Next, the possibility of bifurcation from a symmetrical configuration is examined and again the influence of the coating is analysed. The effect of a coating on the outer boundary is compared with that on the inner boundary. Specifically, during compression, coating on the outer boundary delays bifurcation compared with the uncoated case. On the other hand, when the coating is on the inner boundary, bifurcation is either delayed or advanced relative to the uncoated situation depending on the values of the bending stiffness and tube thickness parameters. Generally, bifurcation is delayed by an increase in the magnitude of the bending stiffness of the coating at fixed values of the other parameters. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.