On the governing equations of membrane O surfaces

Abstract

It is known that a shell membrane in equilibrium where a constant purely normal load $q_n$ acts on the membrane, and where the principal curvature lines coincide with the principal stress lines, forms an integrable system called a membrane O surface. This paper formulates the governing equations for membrane O surfaces of the 1st and 2nd kind, which are analogues to Guichard surfaces of the 1st and 2nd kind introduced by Calapso. Furthermore, under this formulation, we show that membrane O surfaces are a subclass of Demoulin's $\Omega$ surfaces, and that the B\"acklund transformation for membrane O surfaces preserves membrane O surfaces of the 1st and 2nd kind, respectively.