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Structure stays deformed after voltage sweep

Structure stays deformed after voltage sweep

Structure stays deformed after voltage sweep

(OP)
Dear group members,

I'm simulating a voltage sweep on a curled beam using the ESSOLV macro. I've managed to create the electrostatic-structural simulation including contact.

The problem is, after I've done a voltage sweep to determine the pull-in and release voltage, the beam does not return to it's original (undeformed) shape (see animation at http://lucas.left.be/ ). My (rather long) input file "curled_beam.inp" can also be found on this site (Ansys 8 or higher required). The deflection of the tip stays about 7 um even though there is no longer a force working on the beam!

I've used plane183 for the beam and plane121 for the surrounding air. Elements 169 & 172 are used to create the surface-to-surface contact.

The permanent deformation occurs when the voltage sweep contains voltages higher than the pull-in voltage. Resulting in a large portion of the beam being in contact. So my first guess is that it has something to do with the contact, but when I apply low voltages the beam also unrolls a little (also creating contact) but then it does return to it's undeformed shape.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Lucas van Rijsewijk

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