Winter 2013 EE 252/MAE 282/BME 282

Practice problems


Problem 1: Please give brief answers to the following questions (25 pts)



1. Draw the equivalent circuit models of the following mechanical systems (10 pt)







Comb Drive Actuator (25 pt)

Consider the following cascade comb drive electrostatic actuators:


Assume all structures have a thickness t.

a) Derive the relationship between the applied voltage V and the displacement x for x <L using
the given parameters. (10 pt)
b) Derive the relationship between the applied voltage V and the displacement x for L<x <2L
using the given parameters. (8 pt)
c) If you want to want to make sure this comb drive actuator can stably move for a distance of 2L
without lateral instability, what is the minimum stiffness k
y
required? (7 pt)



Electrostatic Actuators (20 pt)

Consider the following two electrostatic actuators:


Structure (A) is parallel plate actuator, and structure (B) is vertical comb drive actuators. For
structure (B), the number of combs is the maximum that can fit under the plate with the same
length as the parallel plate actuator, L. The drawing is only an illustration, and not an indication
of the actual number of fingers.

a). What is the force density of the parallel plate actuator (A), i.e., the force per unit area of the
plate (I mean F
electrostatic
/WL)?
b) What is the force density of the vertical comb actuator (B)? Please note you should normalize
the force to the area perpendicular to the direction of motion. (I mean F
electrostatic
/WL)
c) If d = 10 m, g = 1 m, t = 1 m. Which type of actuator has a larger force density? What is
their ratio (vertical comb drive / parallel plate actuator)?
d) Following (c), what is the maximum displacement allowed in actuator (A) before pull-in
occurs?


Electrostaitc Actuator (15 pt)

Consider two slightly different electrostatic actuators (Figure (A) and (B)). In Figure (B), both
the dielectric and the parallel plate capacitors are equally divided into N segments. The parallel
plates are connected electrically and fixed mechanically. The dielectric segments are
mechanically linked together. The total length of the capacitor plates and dielectric in (A) and (B)
are both equal to L.



(1) Which actuator has a larger displacement? (A) or (B) (5 pt)
(2) What is the ratio of the displacement? (5 pt)
(3) Construct the effective lumped circuit for the actuator (5 pt)


Electrostatic Actuator, Pull-in Effect, and Small Signal Actuation (30pt)



(1) What is the pull-in voltage of this parallel plate electrostatic actuator? (8 pt)
(2) If the applied V=0.7 V
pull-in
, what is the gap between the M and the ground? (8 pt)
(3) At V=0.7 V
pull-in
, if a small external force !F is added on the mass to induce a small
displacement of !g, what is the constant C that relates !F = C!g? (7 pt)
(4) If the resonant frequency of this structure at V=0 is ", what is the new resonant
frequency near the operation point V=0.7 V
pull-in
? (7 pt)