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Aneurysms are localized bulges of arteries, and they can rupture with fatal consequences. Complex mechanobiological factors preclude in vivo testing to assess the rupture risk of an aneurysm, and size based criteria are often used in clinical practice to guide surgical interventions. It is often found that tortuous and buckled aneurysms can exceed in size recommended for surgical intervention, and yet do not rupture. This study addresses why buckled aneurysms exhibit this intriguing behaviour by combining in vitro inflation experiments on hyperelastic tubes with finite element calculations. Using a biologically relevant material model for an arterial wall, we show that buckled aneurysms can grow in size without rupturing under favourable arterial pre-tensions. Stretch reversal phenomenon exhibited by arteries governs whether buckling or bulging occurs first. Exponential stiffening favours the axial propagation of an aneurysm instead of radial growth in size. The choice of failure criteria based on Ogden's strain energy function, Gent's first stretch invariant, and Cauchy stress are discussed. Failure maps incorporating post bifurcation (bulging and buckling) response are constructed to delineate the regimes of growth, buckling and rupture of an aneurysm.

Mechanical instability in a pre-tensioned finite hyperelastic tube subjected to a slowly increasing internal pressure produces a spatially localized bulge at a critical pressure. The subsequent fate of the bulge, under continued inflation, is critically governed by the end-conditions, and the initial tension in the tube. In a tube with one end fixed and a dead weight attached to the other freely moving end, the bulge propagates axially at low initial tension, growing in length and the tube relaxes by extension. Rupture occurs when the tension is high. In contrast, the bulge formed in a tube, initially stretched and held fixed at both its ends can buckle or rupture, depending on the amount of initial tension. Experiments on inflated latex rubber tubes are presented for different initial tensions and boundary conditions. Failure maps in the stretch parameter space and in stretch-tension space are constructed, by extending the theories for bulge formation and buckling analyses to the experimentally relevant boundary conditions. The fate of the bulge according to the failure maps deduced from the theory is verified; the underlying assumptions are critically assessed. It is concluded that buckling provides an alternate route to relieve the stress built up during inflation. Hence buckling, when it occurs, is a protective fail safe mechanism against the rupture of a bulge in an inflated elastic tube.