Damping of a vibrating beam

This study examines the vibration in a beam with one fixed end. The set-up consisted of a beam with one end clamped and a rigid plate having the same thickness of the beam, located adjacent to the unfixed end of the beam. The gap between the beam and the plate varied from 4 to 128 mum depending on t he length of the beam. From the system behaviour in the small signal regime it was concluded that the frequency ratio of the second and first allowed transverse vibrations is solely a function of the gap size. In the large si gnal regime energy flow to other vibration modes takes place due to nonline ar effects. These two effects together with the squeeze film damping in the studied structure could be applied in constructing a mechanically isolated and damped substrate plate for a micromechanical sensor, aimed to consumer applications. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.