 Solution

For the neo-Hookean solid, the axial Cauchy stress tensor under the unloaded lateral boundary conditions isWith $K,\mu >0$, the spring balance is equivalent, after multiplication by $\alpha >0$, to the cubic equationFor a fixed $\gamma \ge 1$, write its left side as $h(\alpha )$. It obeys $h(0)=-\mu <0$ and tends to $+\infty$ as $\alpha \to \infty$. MoreoverThus $h$ first decreases from a negative value and then increases strictly, crossing zero exactly once on $\alpha >0$. For $\gamma >1$,so the unique equilibrium has $1/\gamma <\alpha <1$. The tissue is elastically compressed, while its actual length $\alpha \gamma$ exceeds one and compresses the spring.

To determine the large-growth limit without presuming a power law, solve for $\gamma$:This is a strictly decreasing function of $\alpha >0$, since its derivative isIt tends to $+\infty$ only as $\alpha \to 0^{+}$. Consequently unlimited growth forces $\alpha \to 0^{+}$, andMore precisely, the dominant balance is $K\gamma {\alpha }^3\sim \mu$, givingThe surrounding spring softens the divergence relative to rigid confinement but does not bound the compressive stress. Both axial extension and lateral expansion help accommodate growth:whose product is the total volume $\gamma$, as required by elastic incompressibility and the imposed growth tensor.