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A diffuse interface model for the analysis of propagating bulges in cylindrical balloons

With the aim to characterize the formation and propagation of bulges in cylindrical rubber balloons, we carry out an expansion of the nonlinear axisymmetric membrane model assuming slow axial variations. We obtain a diffuse interface model similar to that introduced by van der Waals in the context of liquid–vapour phase transitions. This provides a quantitative basis to the well-known analogy between propagating bulges and phase transitions. The diffuse interface model is amenable to numerical as well as analytical solutions, including linear and nonlinear bifurcation analyses. Comparisons to the original membrane model reveal that the diffuse interface model captures the bulging phenomenon very accurately, even for well-localized phase boundaries.