Spatial resolution of wrinkle patterns in thin elastic sheets at finite strains
Michael Taylor (Harvard University), Katia Bertoldi (Harvard University), David Steigmann (U.C. Berkeley)
SES Medal Symposium in honor of D.J. Steigmann
Wed 9:00 - 10:30
MacMillan 115
A two-dimensional theory of plates and shells derived from three-dimensional finite elasticity is presented. The approach is based on a systematic small thickness expansion of the exact three-dimensional strain energy density of the plate or shell. The theory involves the small thickness explicitly and accounts for both bending and stretching in a unified framework. Thus, wrinkling instabilities in thin sheets are accommodated as a natural outgrowth of the model. The plate model is demonstrated numerically via a specially designed finite difference code utilizing the method of dynamic relaxation. The code is used to simulate several equilibrium deformations of thin sheets and plates undergoing finite deformation with wrinkling.