Universal Law of Coiling for a Short Elastic Strip Contacting Within a Tube

Abstract

We find that there exists a universal law of coiling not only for a long elastic strip contacting within a tube but also for a short one. Here the elastic strip we consider has the ratio of $2<L/R\le 2\pi$ for its length $L$ to the tube radius $R$. By varying the ratio of $L/R$, we identify four types of deformation for such a short elastic strip, namely, two point-contact, three point-contact, continuous-contact, and self-contact. With theoretical formulas in closed forms and experimental demonstration, these four types are verified for any elastic strips contacting within a tube, irrespective of elastic properties, strip lengths, and tube radius. Our results on coiling can be readily applied to a variety of physical systems, including thin flexible electronic devices, van der Waals materials in scroll shape, and DNA packaging into viral capsids.