Equilibrium of an Elastic Spherical Shell Filled with a Heavy Fluid under Pressure

This paper considers the problem of equilibrium of a nonlinearly elastic spherical shell filled with a heavy fluid and resting on a smooth, absolutely rigid, flat surface. The weight of the shell is assumed to be negligible in comparison with the weight of the fluid filling it. The contact region with the supporting plane is one of the unknowns in the problem. Equilibrium equations for a membrane shell are obtained in an accurate nonlinear formulation. Stresses and strains of a shell made of a Mooney–Rivlin material are numerically investigated. The results are compared with calculation results for the case of inflation of a spherical shell ignoring the weight of the fluid filling. The effect of the fluid weight on shell strains and stresses is estimated.