Abstract
An experimental method has been developed to locate unstable equilibria of nonlinear structures quasistatically. The technique involves loading a structure by the application of either a force or a displacement at a main actuation point while simultaneously controlling the overall shape using additional bidirectional probe points. The method is applied to a shallow arch, and unstable segments of its equilibrium path are identified experimentally for the first time. Shape control is a fundamental building block for the experimental—as opposed to numerical—continuation of nonlinear structures, which will significantly expand our ability to measure their mechanical response.
- Received 5 March 2018
- Revised 20 April 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.254101
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.
Published by the American Physical Society