Constitutive laws. The generalized curvature is associated with the bending κ1, κ2 about the principal directions (d1, d2) and the twist κ3 about the longitudinal one (d3), while is associated with the shears σ1, σ2 along the principal directions (d1, d2) and the axial extensional or compression σ3 along the longitudinal one (d3). The material properties of the rod are captured through the Young’s (E) and shear (G) moduli, while its geometric properties are accounted for via the cross-sectional area A, the second moment of inertia I and the constant for circular cross sections [58]. The diagonal entries of the bending/twist and shear/stretch matrices are, respectively, (B1, B2, B3) and (S1, S2, S3). Pre-strains are modelled via the intrinsic curvature/twist and shear/stretch .