Strengthening by softening: Rigidity increase of a curved sheet from nonlinear regime of deformation

Abstract

It is well-known that a thin sheet held in a rigid circular clamp has a larger flexural strength than when it is flat. Here, we report that the flexural strength of curved sheets is further increased with a softening of the clamping condition. This unexpected compliance effect relates to the geometrical properties of curvature-induced rigidity that we observe in controlled experiments and further analyze with numerical simulations. In addition, we identify another compliance effect in which opened curved sheets can be more resistant to bending than closed cylinders of same dimensions.