Flexural Behavior Test and Dimensionless Analysis of Double-layer Inflatable Beams

ZHANG Hongfen; DENG Xuerong; LIU Feng; REN Xulang; QIN Jie

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.07.032

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (7) : 282-290. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.07.032

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Flexural Behavior Test and Dimensionless Analysis of Double-layer Inflatable Beams

ZHANG Hongfen^a,b, DENG Xuerong^a,b, LIU Feng^a,b,*, REN Xulang^a,b, QIN Jie^a,b

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Abstract

The work aims to investigate the flexural behavior of double-layer inflatable beams under uniformly distributed loads and the enhancement law of internal pressure on stiffness, and to establish a cross-scale dimensionless analysis framework. A buoyancy-varied loading device was designed to conduct uniformly distributed load tests under multi-level internal pressures on umbrella fabric beams with a radius-to-thickness ratio of 368 and polyester fabric beams with a radius-to-thickness ratio of 61. Based on the fixed-end beam theory, the equivalent bending stiffness was back-calculated from the measured mid-span displacement-load data. Dimensionless stiffness and dimensionless internal pressure were introduced to eliminate the effect of dimensional and material differences. The equivalent bending stiffness of both types of inflatable beams increased linearly with internal pressure. The stiffness of umbrella fabric beams increased by 125.5% under internal pressures of 5-20 kPa, while that of polyester fabric beams increased by 104.4% under 35-100 kPa. The calculation error caused by geometric nonlinearity was less than 0.7%, which was negligible. Through dimensionless analysis, linear relationships between dimensionless stiffness and dimensionless internal pressure were obtained for both beam types. Based on stress stiffening theory, the internal pressure efficiency coefficients were derived as 0.026 for umbrella fabric beams and 0.566 for polyester fabric beams. Dimensionless analysis reveals that the radius-to-thickness ratio is a key parameter affecting internal pressure enhancement efficiency, that is the smaller the radius-to-thickness ratio, the higher the internal pressure efficiency. The established dimensionless analysis framework enables cross-scale performance prediction of inflatable beams and provides a theoretical basis for the engineering design of inflatable structures.

Key words

double-layer inflatable beam / flexural behavior test / dimensionless analysis / radius-to-thickness ratio / internal pressure efficiency

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ZHANG Hongfen, DENG Xuerong, LIU Feng, REN Xulang, QIN Jie. Flexural Behavior Test and Dimensionless Analysis of Double-layer Inflatable Beams[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(7): 282-290 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.07.032

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