Period fissioning and other instabilities of stressed elastic membranes

Abstract

We study the shapes of elastic membranes under the simultaneous exertion of tensile and compressive forces when the translational symmetry along the tension direction is broken. We predict a multitude of novel morphological phases in various regimes of a 2-dimensional parameter space $(\epsilon ,\nu )$ that defines the relevant mechanical and geometrical conditions. Theses parameters are, respectively, the ratio between compression and tension, and the wavelength contrast along the tension direction. In particular, our theory associates the repetitive increase of pattern periodicity, recently observed on wrinkled membranes floating on liquid and subject to capillary forces, to the morphology in the regime ($\epsilon \ll 1,\nu \gg 1$) where tension is dominant and the wavelength contrast is large.

4 pages, 4 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

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