Publications [#282333] of Lawrence N. Virgin
Papers Published
- Virgin, LN; Plaut, RH; Cartee, EV, Adjacent Equilibria in Highly Flexible Upright Loop on Rigid Foundation,
Experimental Mechanics, vol. 55 no. 6
(July, 2015),
pp. 1191-1197, Springer Nature, ISSN 0014-4851 [doi]
(last updated on 2023/06/01)Abstract:
For very slender structural components, self-weight may compete with elastic flexural stiffness in determining equilibrium configurations. In cases where the inherent elastic stiffness is low (relative to self-weight) we observe a variety of types of highly nonlinear behavior in the equilibrium shapes, together with changes in the natural frequencies of small oscillations about these equilibrium configurations. This technical note describes a specific phenomenon observed in experiments on very slender polycarbonate loops. In addition to profound changes in equilibrium shapes as a function of weight-to-stiffness ratio, under some circumstances it is possible to have two adjacent, co-existing equilibrium configurations. This robust, highly nonlinear snap-through behavior is demonstrated by perturbing from one shape to the other.