On 1:2 Internal Resonances in In-Plane Vibrations of Electrostrictive Plates
Electrostrictive polymers are popular materials being employed in fabrication of high-strain actuators for use in new generation micro- and nano-scale devices along with applications such as artificial muscles. In this work, possibility of 1:2 internal resonances in in-plane vibrations of appropriately designed electrostrictive plates is investigated. The polymer is assumed to have mechanical response similar to that of a Mooney Rivlin material and the induced strain having a quadratic dependence on the applied external electric field. A Finite Element Method (FEM) formulation is used to develop mode shapes of a structure whose lowest two natural frequencies have been brought close to the ratio of 1:2. Using the mode shapes thus obtained, a more complete Lagrangian formulation is used to develop a nonlinear two-mode model of the electrostrictive plate structure. Application of a harmonic electric field results in in-plane parametric oscillations of the structure. The nonlinear response of the structure is developed using averaging on the two-mode model. The structure exhibits 1:2 internal resonance due to the large amplitude vibrations through the route of parametric excitation. The effects of material constitutive parameters on the nonlinear response are investigated.