Nonlinear Mechanics of Arterial Growth
In this paper, we formulate a geometric theory of the mechanics of arterial growth. An artery is modeled as a finite-length thick shell that is made of an incompressible nonlinear anisotropic solid. An initial radially-symmetric distribution of finite radial and circumferential eigenstrains is also considered. Bulk growth is assumed to be isotropic. A novel framework is proposed to describe the time evolution of growth, governed by a competition between the elastic energy and a growth energy.