Bellows-type inflatable tubes have more flexible properties than the conventional cylinder-type inflatable tubes. The flexibility properties of the bellows-type inflatable tubes are investigated numerically and theoretically. The nonlinear FEM analyses are performed to investigate the flexibilities of the bellows-type inflatable tube with respect to the configuration of bellows-unit Also, the wrinkling and collapsing properties are discussed in detail by both the deflections and the stress distribution of the tube. The numerical results indicate that the ratio of the main curvatures of the bellows-unit is dominant for the bending flexibility of the bellows-type inflatable tube, as well as, the wrinkling and collapsing mode of the bellows-type inflatable tube is different from cylinder-type inflatable tube. The theoretical analyses under the membrane theory are considered to examine the stress distribution. The theoretical results are good agreement with the numerical ones for small bending moment, and the wrinkling stress is obtained by theoretically.
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