Corner instabilities in a slender nonlinearly elastic cylinder: analytical solutions and formation mechanism

In this Note, we study the corner instabilities in a slender cylinder constituted by a nonlinearly elastic material. Starting from the three-dimensional nonlinear field equations, we derive, through a novel method, a singular dynamical system as the normal form equation. It is shown that this system can capture the corner instabilities. We are also able to obtain analytical expressions of the solutions. The mechanism that causes corner formations is also found. To cite this article: H.-H. Dai, F.-F. Wang, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 345 (2007).