Analysis of nonlinear solutions with many singular points in problems of spatial deformation of rods

We consider an algorithm for obtaining numerical solutions of the geometrically nonlinear problems of spatial deformation of elastic rods in the presence of many singular points. The questions of the construction of bifurcation solutions and the stability of the found states of equilibrium are discussed. The results of a study of the nonlinear deformation and stability of a ring in the spatial formulation, which are supported by experimental data, are given. Chaplygin Siberian Aviation Institute, Novosibirsk 630051. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 148–153, November–December, 1998.