Nonlinear Dynamic Response of Nanocomposite Microbeams Array for Multiple Mass Sensing

Giovanni Formica; Walter Lacarbonara; Hiroshi Yabuno

doi:10.3390/nano13111808

Nonlinear Dynamic Response of Nanocomposite Microbeams Array for Multiple Mass Sensing

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023 Jun 5;13(11):1808. doi: 10.3390/nano13111808.

Authors

Giovanni Formica¹, Walter Lacarbonara², Hiroshi Yabuno³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Architecture, Roma Tre University, 33328 Rome, Italy.
² Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 33328 Rome, Italy.
³ Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 300-4352, Japan.

Abstract

A nonlinear MEMS multimass sensor is numerically investigated, designed as a single input-single output (SISO) system consisting of an array of nonlinear microcantilevers clamped to a shuttle mass which, in turn, is constrained by a linear spring and a dashpot. The microcantilevers are made of a nanostructured material, a polymeric hosting matrix reinforced by aligned carbon nanotubes (CNT). The linear as well as the nonlinear detection capabilities of the device are explored by computing the shifts of the frequency response peaks caused by the mass deposition onto one or more microcantilever tips. The frequency response curves of the device are obtained by a pathfollowing algorithm applied to the reduced-order model of the system. The microcantilevers are described by a nonlinear Euler-Bernoulli inextensible beam theory, which is enriched by a meso-scale constitutive law of the nanocomposite. In particular, the microcantilever constitutive law depends on the CNT volume fraction suitably used for each cantilever to tune the frequency bandwidth of the whole device. Through an extensive numerical campaign, the mass sensor sensitivity estimated in the linear and nonlinear dynamic range shows that, for relatively large displacements, the accuracy of the added mass detectability can be improved due to the larger nonlinear frequency shifts at resonance (up to 12%).

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; frequency shifts; mass sensing; microcantilever; nanocomposite; nonlinear frequency response.

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development (EOARD)—Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Grant (Grant N. FA9550-14-1-0082 DEF). Matthew Snyder and David Garner, EOARD program mangers for this Grant, and Les Lee, AFOSR Multifunctional materials and microsystems program manager, are gratefully acknowledged for their support. The Sapienza PhD Fellowships program is also gratefully acknowledged.