Stress-strain behavior for curved exponential strips

Abstract

For the two-parameter (A, α) exponentially-stiffening constituitive relation, typical of many biological materials, it is shown that the uniaxial stress-strain behavior of an initially curved strip is significantly changed by the residual bending stresses. Closedform theoretical results depend on the thickness to radius ratio (h/R) and the relative strain level ε(h/R). The bending stresses tend to obscure accurate measurement ofA and α unless care is taken. However, it is shown that by changing co-ordinates to (dℝ/d∈, ℝ)-space, bothA and α can be recovered from the high stress data, and α alone can be recovered from the low stress data. This has practical application to the mechanics of cornea, sclera, and heart muscle.