Book Offers Fresh Perspective on Design and Applications of Tapered Beams in MEMS Devices听听
A new book titled 鈥�Tapered Beams in MEMS: A Symbolic Modeling Framework with Applications to Energy Harvesting,鈥� co-authored by Khalifa University鈥檚 Dr. Ibrahim M. Elfadel, Professor, Computer and Information Engineering, and corporate researcher Wajih U. Syed was released by Springer Nature. The 236-page hard cover and e-book provides a detailed look at the important role of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) 鈥� technology used to create micro sensors and actuators, focusing on the design and use for energy harvesting applications.听
This new and timely editorial initiative addresses a crucial challenge in the design of MEMS devices, highlighting the advantages of tapered beams over standard rectangular beams, with focus on their impact on harvesting energy from mechanical vibrations using a physical phenomenon called piezoelectricity. Although tapered beams are very common in MEMS, their benefits have often been overlooked due to the reliance of design engineers on numerical modeling techniques.听听
In this new book, the authors take a physics-based approach, utilizing advanced analytical methods in combination with symbolic algebraic systems to develop efficient models that improve the design of tapered beam elements in MEMS energy harvesters and enable a principled approach to their reliability analysis.听听
Another significant aspect of the book is its focus on analytical and semi-analytical models to help engineers understand how variations in material, geometric, and environmental factors can affect the device’s behavior. The book has already garnered close to 900 accesses, according to the publisher鈥檚 website.听听
Dr. Ibrahim M. Elfadel, said: 鈥淚n a sense, we have written a contrarian book where the methodology is physics-based rather than data-driven. The compact models proposed in this book amply illustrate the power of analytical approaches, especially when they are combined with the well-established tools of computer algebra. On the application side, the models of this book can be found useful by engineers involved in the design and optimization of MEMS devices. With its emphasis on both theoretical foundations and real-world applications, I hope the book鈥檚 analytical and symbolic methodologies will be applied to other engineering domains beside MEMS and energy harvesting.鈥澨�
Alisha Roy
Science Writer
