Finite Anticlastic Bending of Hyperelastic Solids and Beams

This paper deals with the equilibrium problem in nonlinear elasticity of hyperelastic solids under anticlastic bending. A three-dimensional kinematic model, where the longitudinal bending is accompanied by the transversal deformation of cross sections, is formulated. Following a semi-inverse approach, the displacement field prescribed by the above kinematic model contains three unknown parameters. A Lagrangian analysis is performed and the compressible Mooney-Rivlin law is assumed for the stored energy function. Once evaluated the Piola-Kirchhoff stresses, the free parameters of the kinematic model are determined by using the equilibrium equations and the boundary conditions. An Eulerian analysis is then accomplished to evaluating stretches and stresses in the deformed configuration. Cauchy stress distributions are investigated and it is shown how, for wide ranges of constitutive parameters, the obtained solution is quite accurate. The whole formulation proposed for the finite anticlastic bending of hyperelastic solids is linearized by introducing the hypothesis of smallness of the displacement and strain fields. With this linearization procedure, the classical solution for the infinitesimal bending of beams is fully recovered.