Size-Dependent Dynamic Behavior of a Microcantilever Plate

Material length scale considerably affects the mechanical properties of microcantilever components. Recently, cantilever-plate-like structures have been commonly used, whereas the lack of studies on their size effects constrains the design, testing, and application of these structures. We have studied the size-dependent dynamic behavior of a cantilever plate based on a modified couple stress theory and the differential quadrature method in this note. The numerical solutions of microcantilever plate equation involving the size effect have been presented. We have also analyzed the bending and vibration of the microcantilever plates considering the size effect and discussed the dependence of the size effect on their geometric dimensions. The results have shown that (1) the mechanical characteristics of the cantilever plate show obvious size effects; as a result, the bending deflection of a microcantilever plate reduces whereas the natural frequency increases effectively and (2) for the plates with the same material, the size effect becomes more obvious when the plates are thinner.