Tension-induced multistability in inextensible helical ribbons
E.L. Starostin & G.H.M. van der Heijden
We study the non-monotonic force-extension behaviour of helical ribbons
using a new model for inextensible elastic strips. Unlike previous rod
models our model predicts hysteresis behaviour for low-pitch ribbons of
arbitrary material properties. Associated with it is a first-order transition
between two different helical states as observed in experiments with
cholesterol ribbons. Numerical solutions show non-uniform uncoiling with
hysteresis also occurring under controlled tension. They furthermore reveal
a new uncoiling scenario in which a ribbon of very low pitch shears under
tension and successively releases a sequence of almost planar loops. Our
results may be relevant for nanoscale devices such as force probes.
Physical Review Letters 101, 084301 (2008)