3D modeling of contact problems and hysteresis in coupled electro-mechanics

This paper discusses the modeling of electromechanical hysteresis in devices which exhibit contact between components. We make use of a recently developed tool, CoSolve-EM, in order to solve quasistatic 3D contact electro-mechanics for a clamped-clamped beam, calculating full displacement, capacitance and contact force vs. voltage. We then extend the simulations to two design variations of the beam which permit engineering of its hysteresis characteristics.