Gent models for the inflation of spherical balloons

We revisit an iconic deformation of non-linear elasticity: the inflation of a rubber spherical thin shell. We use the 3-parameter Mooney and Gent-Gent (GG) phenomenological models to explain the stretch–strain curve of a typical inflation, as these two models cover a wide spectrum of known models for rubber, including the Varga, Mooney–Rivlin, one-term Ogden, Gent-Thomas and Gent models. We find that the basic physics of inflation exclude the Varga, one-term Ogden and Gent-Thomas models. We find the link between the exact solution of non-linear elasticity and the membrane and Young–Laplace theories often used a priori in the literature. We compare the performance of both models on fitting the data for experiments on rubber balloons and animal bladder. We conclude that the GG model is the most accurate and versatile model on offer for the modelling of rubber balloon inflation.     

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.     

The deformation and fracture of balloons

Inflation of balloons provides a straightforward way of achieving large biaxial deformations. Previous studies have shown that when a balloon bursts, crack propagation occurs at very high speed – much higher than would be expected from the low strain modulus and elastic wave velocity of the rubber. The present paper is concerned with studies of the deformation and fracture of cylindrical balloons. On inflation, the deformations of such a balloon pass through an unstable region but subsequently increase monotonically with pressure. In this relatively high pressure region, the ratio of the longitudinal and circumferential extension ratios is broadly in accord with expectations from high-strain elasticity theory when the ratio of the corresponding stresses is taken into account. On bursting, crack speeds up to around 300 m/s in this region. It is shown that these speeds are in accord with large increase in incremental moduli for the highly-strained rubber. Marked changes in crack tip profile observed at very high crack speeds are consistent with control of the rate of growth by inertia rather than by the viscoelastic properties of the rubber (as is believed to be the case at lower speeds). Consistent with this, various elastomers having different glass transition temperatures show similar crack growth behaviour in the very high speed region.     

Mechanics of stretchable electronics on balloon catheter under extreme deformation

Stretchable electronics has been applied to balloon catheters for high-efficacy ablation, with tactile sensing integrated on the surface, to establish full and conformal contact with the endocardial surface for elimination of the heart sink caused by blood flow around their surfaces. The balloon of the catheter folds into uniform ‘clover’ patterns driven by the pressure mismatch inside (∼vacuum) and outside of the balloon (pressure ∼1 atm). The balloon catheter, on which microelectrodes and interconnects are printed, undergoes extreme mechanical deformation during its inflation and deflation. An analytic solution is obtained for balloon catheter inflation and deflation, which gives analytically the distribution of curvatures and the maximum strain in the microelectrodes and interconnects. The analytic solution is validated by the finite element analysis. It also accounts for the effect of inflated radius, and is very useful to the optimal design of balloon catheter.     

Radial deflections of thin precompressed cylindrical rubber bush mountings

For an isotropic incompressible hyperelastic Varga material the plane stress (membrane) theory of thin sheets is employed to formulate the load-deflection relation for small superimposed radial deflections of a cylindrical rubber bush which is precompressed by a large uniform radial inflation. The Varga material is a prototype for rubber over a limited range of deformation and the load-deflection relation obtained provides an extreme lower bound to the practical situation. Moreover this relation complements existing results for cylindrical rubber bushes so that now at least some assessment can be made of the effect of precompression on the radial mode of deflection for bushes of finite length. Typical numerical values are given and are contrasted with corresponding values obtained from existing plane strain radial load-deflection relations for long precompressed cylindrical rubber bush mountings.     

The Mullins Effect in a Pure Shear

The Mullins effect in a rubberlike material subjected to a pure shear deformation is studied in the context of a recent theory of stress-softening for incompressible materials proposed by Beatty and Krishnaswamy. Some general technical results characterizing the mechanical response are presented. These show that the theory delivers results consistent with the overall behavior expected of a Mullins material, but usually exhibited in uniaxial extension or equibiaxial stretch experiments. The extent of stress-softening in a pure shear is shown to be much less than that due to an equibiaxial deformation, and only slightly greater than the degree of stress-softening induced by an uniaxial deformation, all to the same stretch. The Mullins effect in an equivalent simple shear deformation, even one having a rather large angle of shear, is small. The simple shear is the least damaging deformation among all of those mentioned here. Some graphical results, based on a special class of stress-softening materials applied to two parent material models – the familiar Mooney–Rivlin and a certain biotype material model, illustrate the general conclusions obtained for arbitrary Mullins materials. The inflation of a biomaterial membrane preconditioned in a pure shear deformation demonstrates the familiar stress-softening phenomenon observed in the inflation of a balloon.     

On the Correlation of FEM and Experiments for Hyperelastic Elastomers

Correlation of modern finite element methods (FEM) with advanced experimental techniques for elastomers, biomedical materials, and living organs requires study and modification of the behavior of these materials. In this study, the mechanical behavior of a commonly-used elastomer, silicone rubber, which provides excellent biocompatibility, was examined under different applied loading configurations, and large deformations were investigated through both experiment and simulation. The stress-strain behaviors of silicone rubber were tested, using multiple homogeneous experiments, including uniaxial extension and equibiaxial tension, the load-apex displacement response, and digitized deformed shapes of two of the most-used structures for nonlinear hyperelasticity—the inflation of a clamped circular membrane, and indentation of the membrane by a spherical indenter. Uniaxial and equibiaxial data were evaluated simultaneously, characterized by various constitutive models for implementation in the FE simulation. These constitutive models examined the prediction of the FE simulations for the inflation and indentation tests in comparison to the results of experiments at various load-apex displacement levels. The results showed that the constitutive models calibrated with the uniaxial and equibiaxial tests, predicted nearly the same results as the actual experimental results, particularly for the applied loads that generated moderate strain. However, when the FE simulations based on the constitutive models were adjusted, employing only uniaxial or equibiaxial tests, they predicted different results, where the degree of their correlations with experimental results was incomplete or in some states simply poor. The simulations suggested that the inverse FE procedure should not be restricted to the choice of material models, while more attention should be given to the choice of ranges of deformation.     

电活性聚合物球壳的力电不稳定性

应用连续介质力学有限变形理论,分析了不可压电活性聚合物球壳在外加电场及内压作用下发生非对称变形的力电不稳定性问题。文中给出了不同外加电场下球壳的变形曲线和应力分布曲线, 结果表明对壁厚小于临界壁厚值的薄壁球壳,当内压大于临界内压值时,球壳可以产生不稳定的非对称变形。文中求得了球壳发生不稳定变形的临界壁厚及临界内压,探讨了外加电场对两个临界值的影响规律,同时讨论了外加电场对球壳中应力分布的影响。     

Bifurcation of response of a nonlinear viscoelastic spherical membrane

The quasistatic inflation of a nonlinear viscoelastic spherical membrane by monotonically increasing pressure is considered. The deformation is assumed to be spherically symmetric. For the constitutive equation assumed, circumstances are shown to exist when the radius history must either have a jump discontinuity or bifurcate. A necessary condition for bifurcation and its dependence on material properties and radius history is analysed. Examples of bifurcation for various pressure histories are presented. Post-bifurcation branches are constructed and the possibility of secondary bifurcation is discussed.     

Elastic instabilities in rubber

Materials that undergo large elastic deformations can exhibit novel instabilities. Several examples are considered here: development of an aneurysm on inflating a cylindrical rubber tube; non-uniform stretching on inflating a spherical balloon; expansion of small cavities in rubber blocks when they are subjected to a critical amount of triaxial tension or when they are supersaturated with a dissolved gas; wrinkling of the surface of a block at a critical amount of compression; and the sudden formation of “knots” on twisting stretched cylindrical rods. These various deformations are analyzed in terms of simple strain energy functions using Rivlin's theory of large elastic deformations. The theoretical results are then compared with experimental measurements of the onset of unstable states. Such comparisons provide new tests of Rivlin's theory and, at least in principle, critical tests of proposed strain energy functions for rubber. Moreover, the onset of highly non-uniform deformations has serious implications for the fatigue life and fracture resistance of rubber components.     

On the inflation and deflation dynamics of liquid-filled,hyperelastic balloons

We derive a reduced-order model describing the inflation and deflation dynamics of a liquid-filled hyperelastic balloon, focusing on inviscid laminar flow and the extensional motion of the balloon. We initially study the flow and pressure fields for dictated motion of the solid, which throughout deflation are obtained by solving the potential problem. However, during inflation, flow separation creates a jet within the balloon, requiring a different approach. The analyses of both flow regimes lead to a simple piecewise model, describing the fluidic pressure during inflation and deflation, which is verified by finite element computations. We then use a variational approach to derive the equation describing the interaction between the extensional mode of the balloon and the entrapped fluid, yielding a nonlinear hybrid oscillator equation. Analytical and graphical investigations of the suggested model are presented, shedding light on its static and dynamic behaviour under different operating conditions. Our simplified model and its underlying assumptions are verified utilizing a fully coupled finite element scheme, showing excellent agreement.     

Damage and healing effects in rubber-like balloons

Inflation experiments on thin rubber-like balloons show a complex, history-dependent hysteretic behavior, important for many technological applications. Typically, this is ascribed to the occurrence of damage processes at the micro-scale level. The experimental pressure–strain and stress–strain responses [Johnson, M.A., Beatty, F.M., 1995. The Mullins effect in equibiaxial extension and its influence on the inflation of a balloon. Int. J. Eng. Sci. 33(2), 223–245], suggest that for successive cyclic experiments also the occurrence of healing for previously damaged material may play a crucial role (see [Diani, J., Fayolle, B., Gilormini, P., 2009. A review on the Mullins effect, Eur. Polym. J. 45, 601–612] and references therein). In this work we apply a recently proposed, micro-structure-based model for damage and healing effects in rubber-like materials to the inflation problem of a thin spherical balloon. The model, while keeping a computational efficiency, is shown to be in a significant qualitative agreement with the available experimental results.     

Prestretch effect on snap-through instability of short-length tubular elastomeric balloons under inflation

The inflated elastomeric balloon structures are widely used in engineering fields such as elastomeric actuators and artificial muscles. This study, involving both experiment and modeling, is focused on the prestretch effect on non-linear behavior of inflated short-length tubular elastomeric balloons. In the experiment, the prestretched tubular elastomeric balloon is subjected to air pressure while the two ends are fixed with rigid tubes. The shape evolutions of the tubular elastomeric balloons are illustrated. The non-axisymmetric bulging is observed in the inflated tubular balloon with small prestretch. An analytical model based on continuum mechanics is developed to investigate the inflation behavior of the tubular balloons, and the analytical results agree well with the experimental observation. Analysis shows that snap-through instabilities may happen during the inflation of the tubular balloon. Prestretch along the axis of the tubular balloon can suppress instability during inflation and regulate the reaction force along the axial direction. This work can guide the future application of tubular balloons in elastomeric actuators and artificial muscles.     

Stiffness of spherical bonded rubber bush mountings

Exact closed-form expressions are derived for the torsional stiffnesses of spherical rubber bush mountings in the two principal modes of angular deformation, based upon the classical theory of elasticity. Agreement is found, as limiting cases, with the known results for the torsional stiffness and shear stiffness of an elastomer pad of circular cross-section.     

Agricultural tire deformation in the 2D case by finite element methods

The mechanical characteristics of the rubber tire and the interaction between a tire and a rigid surface were investigated by a two-dimensional (2D) finite element (FE) model. The FE model consists of a rigid rim and a rigid contact surface which interact with the elastic tire. Four distinct sets of elastic parameters are used to represent beads, sidewall, tread and lugs. Several sets of tire loads and inflation pressures were applied to the FE model as boundary conditions, together with various displacements and friction conditions. The deformation of the tire profile, the tire displacements in the vertical and lateral directions, the normal contact pressures, the frictional forces and the stress distribution of the tire components were investigated by the 2D FE model under the above boundary conditions. The calculated tire deflections were compared with the measured data. The results show a good fit between calculated and measured data, especially at high load and inflation pressure. The comparison shows that the FE analysis is suitable to predict aspects of the tire performance like its deflection and interactions with the contact surface. Compared with the experimental methods, the FE methods show many advantages in the prediction of tire deformation, contact pressure and stress distribution.     

On Non-Symmetric Deformations of an Incompressible Nonlinearly Elastic Isotropic Sphere

A class of non-symmetric deformations of a neo-Hookean incompressible nonlinearly elastic sphere are investigated. It is found via the semi-inverse method that, to satisfy the governing three-dimensional equations of equilibrium and the incompressibility constraint, only three special cases of the class of deformation fields are possible. One of these is the trivial solution, one the solution describing radially symmetric deformation, and the other a (non-symmetric, non-homogeneous) deformation describing inflation and stretching. The implications of these results for cavitation phenomena are also discussed. In the course of this work, we also present explicitly the spherical polar coordinate form of the equilibrium equations for the nominal stress tensor for a general hyperelastic solid. These are more complicated than their counterparts for Cauchy stresses due to the mixed bases (both reference and deformed) associated with the nominal (or Piola-Kirchhoff) stress tensor, but more useful in considering general deformation fields. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluation of a simple nonlinear elastic constitutive form

A nonlinear, two constant stress-deformation form is deduced for elastic materials. At very large stretch ratios of greater than about 3 or 4, the model exhibits the strain stiffening behavior common to many elastomers. The constitutive form is very simple since the two material constants enter it as multiplying constants times certain nonlinear deformation terms. The model is evaluated with respect to data upon natural rubber under both uniaxial and bi-axial stress conditions. The model is also used to evaluate data obtained from a nonlinear membrane inflation experiment. The latter experimental capability and corresponding data are new.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48.     

Behaviour of an incrementally elastic thick walled sphere under internal and external pressure

The behaviour of a thick walled sphere underinternal and external pressure is considered. The material of the sphere is assumed to obey an incrementally elastic constitutive law. There is no restriction on the size of the deformation and a solution is given in terms of special functions associated with the non-linear differential equations of the problem.As a numerical example the behaviour of a spherical shell, subjected to internal pressure, is described. It is shown that at a certain critical pressure instability of the second kind (inflation) is obtained.     

On the General Structure of Small on Large Problems for Elastic Deformations of Varga Materials II: Axially Symmetric Deformations

In Part I of this article, we have formulated the general structure of the equations governing small plane strain deformations which are superimposed upon a known large plane strain deformation for the perfectly elastic incompressible 'modified' Varga material, and assuming only that the initial large plane deformation is a known solution of one of three first integrals previously derived by the authors. For axially summetric deformations there are only two such first integrals, one of which applies only to the single term Varga strain-energy function, and we give here the corresponding general equations for small superimposed deformations. As an illustration, a partial analysis for the case of small deformations superimposed upon the eversion of a thick spherical shell is examined. The Varga strain-energy functions are known to apply to both natural and synthetic rubber, provided the magnitude of the deformation is restricted. Their behaviour in both simple tension and equibiaxial tension, and in comparison to experimental data, is shown graphically in Part I of this paper [1]. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of Thermally Induced Chemorheological Changes on the Inflation of Spherical Elastomeric Membranes

When an elastomeric material is deformed and subjected to temperatures above some chemorheological value T _cr (near 100°C for natural rubber), its macromolecular structure undergoes time and temperature dependent chemical changes. The process continues until the temperature decreases below T _cr. Compared to the virgin material, the new material system has modified properties (often a reduced stiffness) and permanent set on removal of the applied load. A recently proposed constitutive theory is used to study the influence of chemorheological changes on the inflation of an initially isotropic spherical rubber membrane. The membrane is inflated while at a temperature below T _cr. We then look at the pressure response assuming the sphere's radius is held fixed while the temperature is increased above T _cr for a period of time and then returned to its original value. The inflation pressure during this process is expressed in terms of the temperature, representing entropic stiffening of the elastomer, and a time dependent property that represents the kinetics of the chemorheological change in the elastomer. When the membrane has been returned to its original temperature, it is shown to have a permanent set and a modified pressure-inflated radius relation. Their dependence on the initial inflated radius, material properties and kinetics of chemorheological change is studied when the underlying elastomeric networks are neo-Hookean or Mooney–Rivlin.