The tensile instability of an inflated cylindrical membrane as affected by an axial load

Abstract

In order to determine the effect of the meridional stresses developed in a gore of a high-altitude balloon on the film response in the circumferential direction, a long cylindrical elastic membrane subjected to uniform hydrostatic pressure and an axial load is analyzed. The analysis is first performed using a constitutive relation that assumes linearity between true stresses and Ludwik-Hencky (logarithmic) strains and then using a new non-linear constitutive relation developed by the author for neoprene film.1, 2The analysis using the “linear” constitutive relation predicts that the axial load has no effect on the value of the tensile instability pressure while the non-linear analysis predicts a significant effect. Experiments were performed with thin-walled tubes of latex rubber, an elastomer with a similar stress-strain response to that of neoprene. The findings agree with the results of the non-linear analysis in the stable regions where the membrane retains its cylindrical shape.