A plate model for the evaluation of pull-in instability occurrence in electrostatic micropump diaphragm

This work deals with the mechanical response of circular microplates undergoing electrostatic actuation. A one degree-of-freedom model and Finite Element approaches are exploited in a nondimensional framework. First, a quasi-static conventional approach is adopted. From the one degree-of-freedom model a closed form solution for the plate electromechanical problem is obtained for the first time. Then a strong attention is paid to pull-in phenomena in nonlinear dynamics. Dynamic behavior of the structure is explored, leading to the identification of a pull-in loading condition which is dependent on the quality factor Q. The outcomes are discussed and widely compared with those available in the literature for similar microsystems.