Deflections and buckling of a bent elastica in contact with a flat surface (Q1297543)

This paper is concerned with a straight elastica (strip) that is bent until its ends are vertical and at a fixed distance apart, and then the elastica is pushed onto a flat rigid surface. The weight of the strip and the friction between the strip and the surface are neglected. Planar equilibrium states of the strip are investigated, using either a shooting method or an integral formulation. Both symmetric and asymmetric configurations are possible. There may be a single point of contact, a flat region of contact, or two points of contact with a buckled section between them. Also, if the ends are pushed down sufficiently far, one or two loops may form when the upper portion of the strip makes contact with the lower portion on the surface. If the two ends are held together vertically and then pushed down, an asymmetric configuration may occur with a region of contact between the upper and lower portions of the strip near their ends. The authors investigate the properties of these various equilibrium shapes.