On the absence of bifurcation for elastic bars in uniaxial tension (Q793548)

One of the most striking instability phenomena in the mechanics of elasto-plastic solids is the localization of the deformation in axially stretched homogeneous, isotropic bars with uniform cross section. In the engineering literature this is usually called a necking instability. The author studies the same problem in finite elasticity and by means of a quasistatic theory his results show that there is a marked difference in the behavior of the bar whether the bar is put into maximal tension by a specification of either the final length of the bar (a hard loading device) or the axial load placed on the bar (a soft loading device). Provided certain constitutive assumptions are fulfilled it is shown, in using the concept of Hadamard stability and a generalized Korn inequality, that for both types of loading localization can only occur after the load has attained a local maximum. However, only for the hard loading device a continuous bifurcation occurs, whereas for the soft loading device the localization occurs discontinuously, in a manner similar to snap buckling.