Large nonuniform bending of beams with compressible stored energy functions of polynomial-type

The large bending of beams made with complex materials finds application in many emerging fields. To describe the nonlinear behavior of these complex materials such as rubbers, polymers and biological tissues, stored energy functions of polynomial-type are commonly used. Using polyconvex and compressible stored energy functions of polynomial-type, in the present paper the equilibrium problem of slender beams in the fully nonlinear context of finite elasticity is formulated. In the analysis, the bending is considered nonuniform, the complete three-dimensional kinematics of the beam is taken into account and both deformation and displacement fields are deemed large. The governing equations take the form of a coupled system of three equations in integral form, which is solved numerically through an iterative procedure. Explicit formulae for displacements, stretches and stresses in every point of the beam, following both Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions, are derived. By way of example, a complete analysis has been performed for the Euler beam.