Bending instabilities of elastic tubes

Abstract

The present paper examines instabilities of long thin elastic tubes. Both initially straight and initially bent tubes are analyzed under in-plane bending. Tube response, a combination of ovalization instability and bifurcation instability (buckling), is investigated using a nonlinear finite element (FE) technique, which employs polynomial functions in the longitudinal tube direction and trigonometric functions to describe cross-sectional deformation. It is demonstrated that the interaction between the two instability modes depends on the value and the sign of the initial tube curvature. The ovalization of initially bent tubes is examined in detail and, in particular, the case of opening moments. Furthermore, the paper emphasizes on bifurcation instability. It is shown that buckling may occur prior to or beyond the ovalization limit point, depending on the value of the initial curvature. Using the nonlinear FE formulation, the location of bifurcation on the primary path is detected, post-buckling equilibrium paths are traced, and the corresponding wavelengths of the buckled configurations are calculated. Moreover, results over a wide range of initial curvature values are presented, extending the findings of previous works. Finally, several analytical approaches, introduced in previous research works, are also employed to estimate the moments causing ovalization and bifurcation instability. These approaches are based on nonlinear flexible shell theory or simplified ring analysis. The efficiency and accuracy of those analytical methods with respect to the nonlinear FE formulation are examined. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.