Modelling the mechanical dither of a ring resonator

This article presents a numerical model for a piezoelectric actuator. This model estimates the layer configurations and flexural stiffness of multilayered materials in order to improve the actuator design. Mechanical dithering can be used to avoid the limitation of the lock-in region in a ring resonator. Although the vibro-elastic bimorph piezoelectric actuator has been used as a control, there are in fact piezoelectric rigidity effects on its layered structure. In this study, the plate/shell theory was adapted to multilayered structures; the geometric and material characteristics of multilayered systems were investigated and their structural performances were estimated. Moreover, the optimization designs for the geometric dimensions or material properties of layered systems were easily achieved through the presented equations.This research was supported by a grant partly from the Primary R&D Program of Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) and partly from the Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) of the 21st Century Frontier R&D Program funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), Republic of Korea