Enhancement of static and dynamic travel range of electrostatically actuated microbeams using hybrid simulated annealing

•Static and dynamic analysis of variable geometry microbeams using energy method.•All microbeams are electrostatically driven and have variable width and thickness.•Optimizing shape of microbeams using hybrid simulated annealing.•Effect of range of width and thickness on the pull-in displacement of microbeams.•Proposed optimized profiles of microbeams for maximizing pull-in displacement.

This study focuses on the enhancement of travel range of electrostatically driven microbeams in static and dynamic mode using hybrid simulated annealing optimization. Continuous, parametric functions are presented for redistribution of width and thickness profiles of the microbeams. The beam model includes nonlinear electrostatic force with fringing field effect, flexure and midplane stretching. For structural analysis, an energy based technique is used for extracting the pull-in displacement and pull-in voltage. The accuracy of this model is established by validating the results with 3-D finite element simulations. Constraints having engineering importance are implemented through penalty approach. The optimization results show substantial improvement in pull-in displacement of microbeams compared to conventional prismatic microbeam.