Exact solutions of nonlinear equation of rod deflections involving the Lauricella hypergeometric functions (Q642239)

The aim of the paper under review is to analyze an elastic, thin, flexible rod, clamped at one end (cantilever) and bent under different loadings whose plane coincides with that of the strained centerline. A rod is a mathematical curve made up of material points. It has no cross section, yet it has stiffness. It can weight nothing or be heavy, and is completely elastic. A string is a rod with no resistance to bending (completely flexible). The exact governing equations for the finite displacement rod theory become highly nonlinear, and, hence, it is very difficult to solve them analytically. However, the closed form solutions of these problems are still important due to the practical point that the accuracy of the approximate methods can be precisely evaluated by these solutions. In this paper the following basis assumptions are made for the problem of a bent slender rod: {\parindent=6mm \begin{itemize}\item[1)] the rod is thin, initially straight, homogeneous, with uniform-section and uniform flexural stiffness \(EJ\), \item[2)] the slender rod is charged by coplanar dead loads, \item[3)] the rod undergoes large deflections but small strains (linear constitutive load), \item[4)] the shear transverse deformation is ignored, and the rod is assumed to keep its previous length constant, \item[5)] a stationary strain field, by isostatic equilibrium of active loads and reactive forces, takes place, and due to rest of static equilibrium, no rod element undergoes acceleration. \end{itemize}} The exact curvature in Cartesian coordinates equals the bending moment divided by the flexural stiffness. This leads to a second-order nonlinear and nonautonomous differential equation. Boundary conditions are given at the clamped end, so that, if the constraint is perfect, displacement and rotation are zero at that end. The authors restrict themselves to one configuration, charged by a single load, and treat each single problem making use of special functions of mathematical physics. The chosen loads are a constant bending couple, an evenly distributed load, a shear at the tip, a hydrostatic load, and a sinusoidal load. All these force loads have to be understood as dead loads, namely, always equal to itself and keeping a fixed inclination to the rod before and after the strain. Analytical solutions are provided, which have been individually validated by comparison with other tools, so that they can be used in turn as a benchmark for testing other methods based on the finite elements approximation.