Longitudinally inhomogeneous deformation patterns in isotropic tubes under pure bending

A variational model is formulated that accounts for the localization of deformation due to buckling under pure bending of thin-walled elastic tubes with circular cross-sections. Previous studies have successfully modelled the gradual process of ovalization of the cross-section with an accompanying progressive reduction in stiffness but these theories have had insufficient freedom to incorporate any longitudinal variation in the tube. Here, energy methods and small-strain nonlinear elastic theory are used to model the combined effects of cross-section deformation and localized longitudinal buckling. Results are compared with a number of case studies, including a nanotube, and it is found that the model gives rise to behaviours that correlate well with some published physical experiments and numerical studies.