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Depressions at the surface of an elastic spherical shell submitted to external pressure

Catherine Quilliet
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Abstract

Elasticity theory calculations predict the number N of depressions that appear at the surface of a spherical thin shell submitted to an external isotropic pressure. In a model that mainly considers curvature deformations, we show that N only depends on the relative volume variation. Equilibrium configurations show single depression (N=1) for small volume variations, then N increases up to 6, before decreasing more abruptly due to steric constraints, down to N=1 again for maximal volume variations. These predictions are consistent with previously published experimental observations.

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Catherine Quilliet. 2008-02-06. Depressions at the surface of an elastic spherical shell submitted to external pressure. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.74.046608

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