Eigenvalue Solution of Thermoelastic Damping in Beam Resonators Using a Finite Element Analysis

A finite element formulation is developed for solving the problem related to thermoelastic damping in beam resonator systems. The perturbation analysis on the governing equations of heat conduction, thermoleasticity, and dynamic motion leads to a linear eigenvalue equation for the exponential growth rate of temperature, displacement, and velocity. The numerical solutions for a simply supported beam have been obtained and shown in agreement with the analytical solutions found in the literature. Parametric studies on a variety of geometrical and material properties demonstrate their effects on the frequency and the quality factor of resonance. The finite element formulation presented in this work has advantages over the existing analytical approaches in that the method can be easily extended to general geometries without extensive computations associated with the numerical iterations and the analytical expressions of the solution under various boundary conditions.