Finite extension and torsion of cylinders

Abstract

The theory of finite elastic deformations of an isotropic body, in which a completely general strainenergy function is used, is applied to the problem of a small twist superposed upon a finite extension of a cylinder which has a constant cross-section. The law which relates the force necessary to produce the large extension, with the torsional modulus for the small torsion superposed on that extension, is given by a simple general formula. When the material is incompressible the corresponding law is independent of the particular form of the strain-energy function which applies to the material. When the cylinder is not a circular cylinder or a circular cylindrical tube the twisting couple vanishes for a certain value of the extension ratio, this value being independent of the particular form of the strain-energy function when the material is incompressible. The problems of a small twist superposed upon a hydrostatic pressure, or upon a combined hydrostatic pressure and tension, are also solved. Attention is then confined to isotropic incompressible rubber-like materials using a strain-energy function suggested by Mooney, and the second-order effects which accompany the torsion of cylinders of constant cross-sections are examined. The problem is reduced to the determination of two functions of a complex variable which are regular in the cross-section of the cylinders and which satisfy a suitable boundary condition on the boundary of the cross-section. The solution is expressed as an integral equation and applications are made to cylinders with various cross-sections. This theory is then generalized to include the second-order effects in torsion superposed upon a finite extension of the cylinders. Complex variables are used throughout this part of the paper, and the problem is reduced to the determination of four canonical functions of a complex variable, these functions being the solutions of certain integral equations. An explicit solution is given for an elliptical cylinder but without using the integral equations.