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Inhomogeneous spherical configurations of inflated membranes

Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics volume 25, pages 197–206 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Based on physically meaningful choice of the strain measures, we study the equilibrium and stability of an inflated spherical membrane. First, we obtain general results deduced by global geometric properties and then we analyze the possibility of inhomogeneous configurations. The stability analysis shows that under special constitutive assumptions the global energy minimum can be attained by inhomogeneous spherical configurations that we analytically describe. We argue that these deformations can reproduce well-known experimental results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze dell’ingegneria Civile e dell’Architettura (ICAR), Politecnico di Bari, Via Re David 200, 70125, Bari, BA, Italy

    D. De Tommasi, G. Puglisi & G. Zurlo

Authors
  1. D. De Tommasi
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  2. G. Puglisi
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  3. G. Zurlo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. De Tommasi.

Additional information

Communicated by Francesco Dell'Isola and Samuel Forest.

This work is dedicated to Professor Gianpietro Del Piero in occasion of his retirement, with deep gratitude and friendship.

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Tommasi, D.D., Puglisi, G. & Zurlo, G. Inhomogeneous spherical configurations of inflated membranes. Continuum Mech. Thermodyn. 25, 197–206 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00161-012-0240-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00161-012-0240-2

Keywords

  • Membranes inflation
  • Nonlinear elasticity
  • Ballooning instability
  • Energy minimization