# A variational model for anisotropic and naturally twisted ribbons

created by mora on 11 May 2016
modified by freddi on 10 Jan 2017

[BibTeX]

Published Paper

Inserted: 11 may 2016
Last Updated: 10 jan 2017

Journal: SIAM J. MATH. ANAL.
Volume: 48
Number: 6
Pages: 3883–3906
Year: 2016
Doi: 10.1137/16M1074862

Abstract:

We consider thin plates whose energy density is a quadratic function of the difference between the second fundamental form of the deformed configuration and a "natural" curvature tensor. This tensor either denotes the second fundamental form of the stress-free configuration, if it exists, or a target curvature tensor. In the latter case, residual stress arises from the geometrical frustration involved in the attempt to achieve the target curvature: as a result, the plate is naturally twisted, even in the absence of external forces or prescribed boundary conditions. Here, starting from this kind of plate energies, we derive a new variational one-dimensional model for naturally twisted ribbons by means of $\Gamma$-convergence. Our result generalizes, and corrects, the classical Sadowsky energy to geometrically frustrated anisotropic ribbons with a narrow, possibly curved, reference configuration.