Abstract
Wrinkles and collapse of inflatable tubes have effect on the structural properties. The collapsing process and the deformation of the inflatable tube subject to bending moment are discussed by FEM analyses. The nonlinear properties for the growth of the collapse through the wrinkles on the inflatable tube are examined in detail by both the deflections and the strain distribution of the tube. The result of the load-deformation properties by FEM analysis is good agreement with the experimental result by considering the axial stiffness due to the friction force. Before collapsing, as bending load increases, the amplitude of the wrinkle increase without changing the wavelength of the wrinkle. After collapsing, some large wrinkles are dominated for the deformation of upper part of the tube. Also the configuration of wrinkles for collapsing inflatable tube coincides with experimental result qualitatively.
