Latching Criteria in Bistable Prestressed Curved Micro Beams

Curved beams subjected to transverse force may exhibit a latching phenomena, namely remain in their buckled configuration under zero force such that an opposite force is required for their release. In this study, we investigate the latching in bistable electrostatically actuated prestressed curved beams. The analysis is based on a reduced order (RO) model resulting from the Galerkin decomposition with buckling modes of a straight beam as base functions. Criteria for the existence of latching are derived in terms of the beam geometric parameters and the axial load. Two conditions are formulated: A necessary criterion establishes the appearance of latching on the symmetric response curve and a sufficient condition which assures the existence of latching in the presence of bifurcations. A comparison between the model results and those obtained by numerical analysis shows good agreement up to a certain elevation. It is noted that as the latching is not affected by the nonlinear electrostatic load, the obtained criteria stand for all types of loading.

Amplitude Modulation and Symmetry Breaking Bifurcation in Micro Devices

Designs of many micro devices take advantage of the symmetry for better performance, immunity to noise, and for simpler analysis. When a symmetric structure is subjected to symmetric forcing, the symmetric response can become unstable leading to asymmetric responses. The occurrence of symmetry breaking bifurcation leads to complicated dynamic responses which often result in less desirable performances. In this paper, we obtain analytical criteria for the onset of symmetry breaking bifurcations. We also conduct numerical simulations to demonstrate different types of asymmetric dynamic responses resulting from the symmetry breaking bifurcation. In particular, we show the occurrence of amplitude modulated motions in such systems.