Buckling and post-buckling of a compressed elastic half-space coated by double layers

We investigate the buckling and post-buckling properties of a hyperelastic half-space coated by two hyperelastic layers when the composite structure is subjected to a uniaxial compression. In the case of a half-space coated with a {it single} layer, it is known that when the shear modulus $mu_f$ of the layer is larger than the shear modulus $mu_s$ of the half-space, a linear analysis predicts the existence of a critical stretch and wave number, whereas a weakly nonlinear analysis predicts the existence of a threshold value of the modulus ratio $mu_s/mu_fapprox 0.57$ below which the buckling is super-critical and above which the buckling is sub-critical. It is shown in this paper that when another layer is added, a larger variety of behaviour can be observed. For instance, buckling can occur at a preferred wavenumber super-critically even if both layers are softer than the half-space although the top layer would need to be harder than the bottom layer. When the shear modulus of the bottom layer lies in a certain interval, the super-critical to sub-critical transition can happen a number of times as the shear modulus of the top layer is increased gradually. Thus, an extra layer imparts more flexibility in producing wrinkling patterns with desired properties, and our weakly nonlinear analysis provides a road map on the parameter regimes where this can be achieved.