finite element analysis – Page 2

Symbolic Finite Element Analysis for Parametric Studies

Johnstone R.W., Shimizu T., Parameswaran M., Simon Fraser University, CA

In our paper, we will present a method of performing finite element analysis using a symbolic kernel. The representation of numbers used in analysis is symbolic expressions instead of floating point numbers. Unlike standard finite [...]

Effect of Thermophysical Property Variations on Surface Micromachined Polysilicon Beam Flexure Actuators

Atre A., Boedo S., Rochester Institute of Technology, US

Electrically heated, thermally driven, surface micromachined polysilicon beam flexure thermal actuators have been investigated using analytical methods that employ constant material properties either taken at room temperature or based on a set of averaged temperatures [...]

Flow Simulation of a Microfluidic Analog of the Four-Roll Mill

Phelan_Jr. F.R., Hudson S.D., NIST, US

The fluid dynamics of geometries for liquid state materials characterization in microfluidic devices are investigated. A pressure driven device using microchannels is sought that has an adjustable flow type, approximating the function of the four-roll [...]

Quality Based Design and Design for Reliability of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Using Probabilistic Methods

Reh S., Lethbridge P., Ostergaard D.F., ANSYS, Inc., US

The paper demonstrates the use of probabilistic methods to assess the electromechanical behavior of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) under the presence of micromachining manufacturing and process uncertainties. Probabilistic Methods are used to assess uncertainties involved [...]

Systematic Design and Optimization of Multi-Material, Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Micro Actuators

Sigmund O., Technical University of Denmark, DK

The paper reports an automated method for the synthesis of multi-material, multi-degree-of-freedom micro actuators. The method is based on topology optimization, an iterative computational scheme consisting of alternating finite element analyses, sensitivity analyses and optimal [...]

Joule Heating Simulation of Poly-Silicon Thermal Micro-Actuators

Silversmith D.J., Reid J.R., Air Force Research Laboratory, US

Previous studies of surface micro-machined polycrystalline silicon MEMS thermal micro-actuators have shown that these simple devices can provide deflections on the order of 10 micrometers at CMOS compatible drive voltages. These thermo-mechanical devices operate by [...]

Investigation of Tetrhedral Automatic Mesh Generation for Finite-Element Simulation of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Switches

Wilson N.M., Pinsky P.M., Dutton R.W., Stanford University, US

Simulation of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) typically involves the requirement to mesh complex 3-D representations of the geometry. Since proper manual or semi-automated mesh generation requires significant user time and knowledge, there is great interest in [...]

Keywords: finite element analysis