Systematic description of imperfect bifurcation behavior of symmetric systems

A systematic method is presented for describing experimental curves of force vs strain of a system with regular polygonal (dihedral group) symmetry subject to bifurcation behavior, with an aim toward overcoming the following problems : (1) it is difficult to judge whether the system is undergoing bifurcation or not ; (2) the perfect behavior of the system cannot be known due to the presence of initial imperfections ; (3) those curves are often qualitatively different from bifurcation diagrams predicted by mathematics. The tools employed are : the asymptotic theory for imperfect bifurcation, such as the Koiter law, and the stochastic theory of initial imperfections. The former theory is extended in this paper to the system with regular-polygonal symmetry to present asymptotic laws for recovering perfect curves with reference to the experimental ones. These laws are formulated for physically observable displacements, instead of the variables in the mathematical bifurcation diagrams, in order to make them readily applicable to the experimental curves. The stochastic theory is combined with an asymptotic law to develop a means to identify the multiplicity of the bifurcation point. The systematic method for describing the experimental curves developed in this manner is applied to the bifurcation analysis of regular-polygonal truss domes to testify its validity. Furthermore, this method is applied to the shear behavior of cylindrical sand specimens to show that they, in fact, are undergoing bifurcation, and, in turn, to demonstrate the importance of a viewpoint of bifurcation in the study of shear behavior of materials. The need of a dual viewpoint of bifurcation and plasticity in the study of constitutive relationship of materials is emphasized to conclude the paper.