THE EXACT SOLUTION FOR STRAINS AND STRESSES IN A HOLLOW CYLINDER OF NON-LINEAR VISCOELASTIC MATERIAL SUBJECT TO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PRESSURES IN THE CASE OF POWER MATERIAL FUNCTION GOVERNING NON-LINEARITY

We study analytically the exact solution of the quasi-static problem for a thick-walled tube of physically non-linear viscoelastic material obeying the Rabotnov constitutive equation with two arbitrary material functions (a creep compliance and a function which governs physical non-linearity). We suppose that a material is homogeneous, isotropic and incompressible and that a tube is loaded with time-dependent internal and external pressures (varying slowly enough to neglect inertia terms in the equilibrium equations) and that a plain strain state is realized, i.e. zero axial displacements are given on the edge cross sections of the tube. We previously have obtained the closed form expressions for displacement, strain and stress fields via the single unknown function of time and integral operators involving this function, two arbitrary material functions of the constitutive relation, preset pressure values and radii of the tube and derive functional equation to determine this unknown resolving function. Assuming creep complience is arbitrary and choosing the material function governing non-linearity to be power function with a positive exponent, we construct exact solution of the resolving non-linear functional equation, calculate all the convolution integrals involved in the general representation for strain and stress fields and reduce it to simple algebraic formulas convenient for analysis and use. Strains evolution in time is characterized by creep compliance function and loading history. The stresses in this case depend on the current magnitudes of pressures only, they don't depend on creep compliance (i.e. viscoelastic properties of a material) and on loading history. The stress field coincides with classical solution for non-linear elastic material or elastoplastic material with power hardening (for non-decreasing pressure difference). We obtain criteria for increase, decrease or constancy of stresses with respect to radial coordinate in form of inequalities for the exponent value and for difference of pressures. Assuming creep compliance is arbitrary, we study analytically properties of strain and stress fields in a tube under internal pressure growing with constant rate and properties of corresponding stress-strain curves implying measurement of strains at a surface point of a tubular specimen.