Nonlinear bending of a soft slab subjected to vertical compression: A continuum mechanics model

Abstract

The small bending behavior of linear elastic materials has been widespread in engineering in the history of mechanics. With the occurrence of soft materials, finite deformation bending is of great interest due to the high nonlinearity in large bending deformation. Previous theories primarily focus on the pure bending assumption, which is hard to achieve in practical bending experiments of soft materials because compressive forces cannot be neglected. In this paper, we propose a continuum mechanics-based nonlinear bending theory that incorporates an initial compression process to align with real-world experiments. We compare experimental data and simulation to our theoretical prediction to verify the accuracy of our theoretical model. The results demonstrated good agreement between our theory, experimental data, and finite element simulation. Furthermore, we compare our nonlinear bending theory with the classical Euler–Bernoulli theory to understand their respective behaviors better. This paper advances our understanding of bending phenomena by considering the effects of initial compression and incorporating a nonlinear approach. It provides valuable insights for practical applications of soft materials subjected to large bending deformation.