On the stability of elastic annular rods

The stability of equilibrium of non-linearly elastic rods, whose deformations obey the classical Kirchhoff’s equations, is considered. A variational formulation of the equilibrium problem is given, and the equilibrium equations for infinitesimal deformations superimposed to a finite transformation of a rod are deduced. The stability of annular rings, in which the twisting strain is non-null, is investigated by study of the second variation of the energy functional.