title: Snap-through buckling of initially curved microbeam subject to an electrostatic force.
abstract: In this paper, the snap-through buckling of an initially curved microbeam subject to an electrostatic force, accounting for fringing field effect, is investigated. The general governing equations of the curved microbeam are developed using Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and used to develop a new criterion for the snap-through buckling of that beam. The size effect of the microbeam is accounted for using the modified couple stress theory, and intermolecular effects, such as van der Waals and Casimir forces, are also included in our snap-through formulations. The snap-through governing equations are solved using Galerkin decomposition of the deflection. The results of our work enable us to carefully characterize the snap-through behaviour of the initially curved microbeam. They further reveal the significant effect of the beam size, and to a much lesser extent, the effect of fringing field and intermolecular forces, upon the snap-through criterion for the curved beam.
authors.affiliation: Mechanics and Aerospace Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Toronto , 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G8.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Mechanics and Aerospace Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Toronto , 5 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G8.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Meguid
keywords: bistable microelectromechanical systems; electrostatic force; fringing field effect; initially curved microbeam; size effect; snap-through criterion