An elastica arm scale

The concept of a 'deformable arm scale' (completely different from a traditional rigid arm balance) is theoretically introduced and experimentally validated. The idea is not intuitive, but is the result of nonlinear equilibrium kinematics of rods inducing configurational forces, so that de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inProceedings of the Royal Society. A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences Vol. 470; no. 2169; p. 20140232
Main Authors Bosi, F, Misseroni, D, Dal Corso, F, Bigoni, D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 08.09.2014
Subjects
Eshelbian forces
deformable mechanism
elastica
snake locomotion
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Summary:The concept of a 'deformable arm scale' (completely different from a traditional rigid arm balance) is theoretically introduced and experimentally validated. The idea is not intuitive, but is the result of nonlinear equilibrium kinematics of rods inducing configurational forces, so that deflection of the arms becomes necessary for equilibrium, which would be impossible for a rigid system. In particular, the rigid arms of usual scales are replaced by a flexible elastic lamina, free to slide in a frictionless and inclined sliding sleeve, which can reach a unique equilibrium configuration when two vertical dead loads are applied. Prototypes designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the system show a high accuracy in the measurement of load within a certain range of use. Finally, we show that the presented results are strongly related to snaking of confined beams, with implications for locomotion of serpents, plumbing and smart oil drilling.
ISSN:1364-5021
DOI:10.1098/rspa.2014.0232