I'm following Goldbart's Mathematics for Physics book, and I ran into a problem with exercise 1.4 (page 43). We have a formula for the energy stored in a slightly bent rod aligned on the $z$ axis:
$ U[y] = \int_0^L \frac{1}{2}YI (y'')^2 dz $
Then we apply this knowledge to the following situation:
Euler's problem: the buckling of a slender column. The rod is used as a column which supports a compressive load $Mg$ directed along the $z$ axis (which is vertical). Show that when the rod buckles slighly (i.e. deforms with both ends remaining on the z axis) the total energy , including the gravitational potential energy of the loading mass M, can be approximated by
$ U[y] = \int_0^L \frac{1}{2}YI (y'')^2 - \frac{1}{2}Mg(y')^2 dz $
I don't really know what to do, my total energy looks like:
$ U_{tot}[y] = \int_0^L \frac{1}{2}YI (y'')^2 dz + MgL $
I think that $L$ should actually vary depending on $y$, since it's the rod length that should be constant, not it's $z$ component, i.e.:
$ \int_0^L ds = \int_0^L \sqrt{1+y'^2} dz = const $
I tried including that as Lagrange multiplier in the energy term:
$ U_{tot}[y] = \int_0^L \frac{1}{2}YI (y'')^2 dz + MgL - \lambda (\int_0^L \sqrt{1+y'^2} dz - C) $
Two questions:
- First, which approach do I have to take to arrive at the desired equation? Variational calculus doesn't actually seem fruitful here, as I want to stay at the energy level (not drop down to differential equations)? Can I transform $MgL$ term into something that relates to the integral over $dz$? Nudges into the right direction would be welcome!
- Can I use variational calculus to find an $U$-minimizing $y$ when the integration boundaries depend on the function that's varied? ($L = L(y')$)