Related papers: Rods coiling about a rigid constraint: Helices and…
Bifurcation of an elastic structure crucially depends on the curvature of the constraints against which the ends of the structure are prescribed to move, an effect which deserves more attention than it has received so far. In fact, we show…
The design of compliant mechanisms is crucial in several technologies and relies on the availability of solutions for nonlinear structural problems. One of these solutions is given and experimentally validated in the present article for a…
We analyze stability of a thin inextensible elastic rod which has non-vanishing spontaneous generalized torsions in its stress-free state. Two classical problems are studied, both involving spontaneously twisted rods: a rectilinear beam…
A highly deformable rod, modelled as the extensible elastica, is connected to a movable clamp at one end and to a pin sliding along a frictionless curved profile at the other. Bifurcation analysis shows that axial compliance provides a…
In this work, we study the mechanics of metamaterial sheets inspired by the pellicle of Euglenids. They are composed of interlocking elastic rods which can freely slide along their edges. We characterize the kinematics and the mechanics of…
Two equal and opposite distributed dead loads are applied orthogonally to the axis of an elastic rod in its rectilinear reference configuration, one at the extrados and the other at the intrados, such that the resultant applied force per…
It is shown that a compound elastic structure, which displays a dynamic instability, may be designed as the union (or 'fusion') of two structures which are stable when separately analyzed. The compound elastic structure has two degrees of…
Many physical systems can be modelled as parameter-dependent variational problems. In numerous cases, multiple equilibria co-exist, requiring the evaluation of their stability, and the monitoring of transitions between them. Generally, the…
Experimental analysis of the mechanics of a deformable object, and particularly its stability, requires repetitive testing and, depending on the complexity of the object's shape, a testing setup that can manipulate many degrees of freedom…
We combine experiments with simulations to investigate the fluid-structure interaction of a flexible helical rod rotating in a viscous fluid, under low Reynolds number conditions. Our analysis takes into account the coupling between the…
The nonlinear mechanics of a flexible elastic rod constrained at its edges by a pair of sliding sleeves is analyzed. The planar equilibrium configurations of this variable-length elastica are found to have shape defined only by the…
An elastic rod, straight in its undeformed state, has a mass attached at one end and a variable length, due to a constraint at the other end by a frictionless sliding sleeve. The constraint is arranged with the sliding direction parallel to…
The design and control of soft robots operating in fluid environments requires a careful understanding of the interplay between large elastic body deformations and hydrodynamic forces. Here we show that this interplay leads to novel…
Helical ribbons arise in many biological and engineered systems, often driven by anisotropic surface stress, residual strain, and geometric or elastic mismatch between layers of a laminated composite. A full mathematical analysis is…
In this paper we discuss the motion of a beam in interaction with fluids. We allow the beam to move freely in all coordinate directions. We consider the case of a beam situated in between two different fluids as well as the case where the…
We study well-posedness, stabilization and control problems involving freely vibrating beams that may undergo motions of large magnitude -- i.e. large displacements of the reference line and large rotations of the cross sections. Such…
When an inextensible elastic rod is 'injected' through a sliding sleeve against a fixed constraint, configurational forces are developed, deeply influencing the mechanical response. This effect, which is a consequence of the change in…
We study the effect of a magnetic field on the behaviour of a conducting elastic rod subject to a novel set of boundary conditions that, in the case of a transversely isotropic rod, give rise to exact helical post-buckling solutions. The…
We study elastic ribbons subject to large, tensile pre-stress confined to a central region within the cross-section. These ribbons can buckle spontaneously to form helical shapes, featuring regions of alternating chirality (phases) that are…
Aiming at simulating elastic rods, we discretize a rod model based on a general theory of hyperelasticity for inextensible and unshearable rods. After reviewing this model and discussing topological effects of periodic rods, we prove…