Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29

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Finite Elements in Analysis and Design

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A finite element model for the bending and vibration of nanoscale

plates with surface effect
K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang n
Graduate School at Shenzhen, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A continuum finite element model for the nanoscale plates considering the surface effect of the material
Received 19 December 2012 is developed. Governing equations for Kirchoff and Mindlin nanoplates are derived by using the Galerkin
Received in revised form finite element technique. The model is verified by comparing the results with available analytical
10 April 2013
solutions. The results indicate that, depending on the boundary conditions, the deflections and
Accepted 11 May 2013
frequencies of the plate have a dramatic dependence on the residual surface stress and surface elasticity
of the plates. The present model is an efficient tool for the analysis of the static and dynamic mechanical
Keywords: behaviors of nanoscale plates with complex geometry, boundary and loading conditions and material
Nanoscale plate properties.
Finite element method
& 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Surface residual stress
Surface elasticity

1. Introduction response of nanoplates by using the Gurtin–Murdoch theory.

Nanoscale plates are key components of actuators and sensors
for nano-electromechanical system (NEMS) [1]. Naturally, it is
importance to understand the static and dynamic mechanical
behaviors of these advanced materials and structures for the
design and manufacture of NEMS. Due to their high surface-to-
volume ratio, structures at nanoscale show significant size-
dependent behavior [2–4]. Therefore, the surface effect must be
considered for the analysis of materials and structures at nanos-
cale. Some researchers applied atomistic simulation to study the
size-dependent properties of nanostructures [5–7]. However, this
method is difficult to apply to the analysis of NEMS with complex
geometries, due to the limit of the available computational power.
It is essential to find an efficient tool to analyze the mechanics
behavior of nanoscale structures. Gurtin and Murdoch [8,9]
proposed a modified continuum theory which incorporates the
surface/interface effects into the traditional continuum mechanics.
This theory has been widely used to study the mechanics response
of nanoscale structures. For examples, Lim and He [10] proposed a
continuum model to analyze the bending behaviors of thin elastic
nanoplate of nanoscale thickness. Lu et al. [11] proposed a size-
dependent thin plate model by complementing Lim and He's
model. Liu and Rajapakse [12] studied the static and dynamic
response of nanoscale beams based on the Gurtin–Murdoch
theory. Assadi et al. [13] studied the size-dependent dynamic
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 755 26033490.
E-mail addresses: wangbl2001@hotmail.com, wangbl@hitsz.edu.cn (B.L. Wang).
Wang and Feng [14,15] studied the influence of the surface
effect on the buckling and vibration behaviors of nanowires. Fang
et al. [16] studied the influence of the surface/interface effect
on the dynamic stress of two interacting cylindrical nano-
inhomogeneities under compressive waves based on the surface/
interface elasticity theory.
Analytical solutions are impossible for the structures with
complex geometry and boundary conditions. It is necessary to
develop a versatile numerical model, such as, the finite element
(FE) method and the boundary element (BE) method. Wei et al.
[17] proposed a kind of surface element for a two dimensional
continuum FE model to take into account the surface elastic effect
(based on the Gurtin–Murdoch theory). Tian and Rajapkse [18]
studied the mechanics of nanoscale inhomogeneities in an elastic
matrix by proposed a FE model. Feng et al. [19] developed a 3D FE
model to study the resonant properties of silicon nanowires. Liu
et al. [20] proposed a Galerkin-type finite element of the thin and
thick beam with the surface effect. In addition, Dong and Pan [21]
proposed a BE method to analyze the stress field in nano-
inhomogeneities with the surface/interface effect.
Nanoplates with complex geometry, boundary and loading
conditions are often used in NEMS. Such complicated structural
systems cannot be studied by analytical models. However, an
efficient numerical model is not available at this moment for the
analysis of nanoscale plates. In the present paper, a finite element
model is developed to analyze the bending behavior of nanoplates
with consideration of surface residual stress and surface elasticity.
The present FE model is based on the plate mathematical model
developed by Lu et al. [11] by using the Gurtin–Murdoch surface

0168-874X/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.finel.2013.05.007
 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29 23

2.1. Static bending of Kirchhoff plate

According to the Kirchhoff plate theory, the displacement

components are uα ¼ −zu3;α and u3 ¼ w. Using Eq. (2), we obtained
M nx;xx þ 2M nxy;xy þ M ny;yy þ 2ðτxx w;xx þ τyy w;yy Þ þ q ¼ 0 ð4Þ
n n n T 2
where f M ;xx M ;yy M ;xy g ¼ ½Dψ þ ðh =2Þ½Cs ψ, ψ ¼ f w;xx w;yy
−2w;xy gT , and the material property matrices ½D and ½Cs  are given
in Appendix A. For static bending of the Kirchhoff plate, applying
Galerkin's weighted residual method to Eq. (4) gives
∬A ðM nx;xx þ 2M nxy;xy þ M ny;yy þ 2ðτxx w;xx þ τyy w;yy Þ þ qÞw dA ¼ 0 ð5Þ

Using Green's theorem, we get the weak form of Eq. (5) as

∬A ðM nx w;xx þ 2M nxy w;xy þ M ny w;yy ÞdA
þ 2∬A ðτxx w;xx þ τyy w;yy Þw dA þ ∬A qw dA
Z Z Z
þ ðV nx nx þ V ny ny Þw dS− ðM nx nx þ M nxy ny Þw;x dS− ðM nxy nx
S S S

þ M ny ny Þw;y dS ¼ 0 ð6Þ
n n n n n n
where V x ¼ M x;x þ M xy;y and V x ¼ M xy;x þ M y;y .
The boundary conditions are usually expressed in terms of
directions that are normal and tangent to the boundaries. These
are the derivatives in the normal direction ∂w=∂n and in the
tangential direction ∂w=∂T. Here n is the outward unit vector
normal to the boundary of the plate, whose components are nx
and ny , T is the unit vector tangent to the boundary of the plate,
whose x and y components are −ny and nx . By these definitions,
wn ¼ nx wx þ ny wy , wT ¼ −ny wx þ nx wy and n2x þ n2y ¼ 1. The last
two boundary integrals in Eq. (6) can now be written as
Fig. 1. (a) Four-node plate element; (b) eight-node plate element. Z
½ðM nx nx þ M nxy ny Þðnx wn −ny wT Þ þ ðM nxy nx þ M ny ny Þðny w;n þ nx w;T ÞdS
S
elasticity theory. The accuracy and convergence of the present Z
finite element model are verified by comparing the results with ¼ ½ðM nx n2x þ M ny n2y þ 2M nxy nx ny Þwn
the available analytical solutions. The model is used to investigate S

the influence of residual surface stress and surface elasticity on þð−M nx nx ny þ M ny nx ny þ M nxy ðn2x −n2y ÞÞwT dS
Z Z
bending and free vibration of nanoplates with different boundary
¼ M nn wn dS þ M nT wT dS ð7Þ
conditions. S S

Finally, the weak form Eq. (6) can be rewritten as

2
h
2. Finite element formulation ∬A ψT ½DψdA þ ∬A ψT ½Cs ψdA−2∬A ðτxx wxx þ τyy wyy Þw dA
Z 2 Z
The static equilibrium equations for the bulk of the plate −∬A qw dA− ðV nn þ M nT;T Þw ds þ M nn wn ds ¼ 0 ð8Þ
s s
without considering body force are sij;j ¼ 0, where sij denote
stresses of the bulk. According to Ref. [8], the surface stresses where
satisfy the following relations: h iT
ψ ¼ w;xx w;yy 2w;xy ð9Þ
7 7
τβi;β −si3 ¼0 ð1Þ
Consider a four-node finite element with three nodal degrees of
where τβi7 denote the surface stresses on the surface S 7 . Using freedom per node, i.e.,w, θx and θy as shown in Fig. 1(a).
sij;j ¼ 0 and Eq. (1) we can obtain the equilibrium equations of The element nodal displacement vector is
plate with the surface effect [11] h iT
ue ¼ w1 θx1 θy1 ::: w4 θx4 θy4 ð10Þ
N niβ;β þ q ¼ I u€ i ð2aÞ
The displacement vector of the element and the vector of
M nαβ;β −N α3 ¼ J u€ α ð2bÞ element curvatures are, receptivity, w ¼ NT ue and ψ ¼ ½BT ue . Here
R h=2 R h=2 the shape function N and the geometry matrix ½B are given in
where I ¼ −h=2 ρ dz, J ¼ −h=2 ρz2 dz, N niβ ¼ N iβ þ τþ − n
αiR þ τ αi , M αβ ¼ Appendix A. Substituting Eq. (9) and the weighting functions
R h=2 h=2
M αβ þ ðh=2Þðτþ
βα −τ −
βα Þ, and N ij ¼ s
−h=2 ij
dz and M ij ¼ s
−h=2 ij
z dz. (w-Ni and ψ-½BT ) into Eq. (8), we obtain
According to Refs. [4,8], linear constitutive equations for the ½ke  ¼ ½kb  þ ½ks  þ ½kτ  ð11Þ
surface are
where
ταβ ¼ τ0αβ þ C sαβγδ εsγδ ; τα3 ¼ τ0α u3;α ð3Þ
½kb  ¼ ∬A ½BT ½D½BdA ð12aÞ
whereτ0αβ , C sαβγδ
and εsγδ
are the receptivity, the residual surface
stresses, the surface elastic constants and surface strains. Both τ0αβ   h2
ks ¼ ∬A ½BT ½Cs ½BdA ð12bÞ
and C sαβγδ can be obtained from atomistic calculations. 2
24 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29

½kτ  ¼ −2τxx ∬A N;xx T N dA−2τyy ∬A N;yy T N dA ð12cÞ the boundary of the nanoplate, k is the shear correction coefficient
(k ¼ π 2 =12) and ½G is a shear module matrix.
The element nodal force vector can be expressed as
RR T A eight-node plate element is used with three degrees of
qe ¼ A qN dA. Assembling the element stiffness and nodal force freedom per node (w, βx and βy ), as shown in Fig. 1(b). The
vector, the global equilibrium equation of the system can be
displacement is interpolated by using the shape function as
obtained as ½Ku ¼ q, where ½K, u and q denote, respectively, the
n oT
global stiffness matrix, the nodal displacement vector and the w βx β y ¼ ½Nue ð19Þ
nodal force matrix.
where ½N is the matrix of interpolation functions, which is
2.2. Dynamic behavior of Kirchhoff plate 2 3
N1 0 0 N2 0 ⋯
6 0 −N 1 0 0 ⋯7
For dynamic analysis, the deflection is interpolated within a ½N ¼ 4 0 5 ð20Þ
plate element as w ¼ NT ue eiωt . The element mass matrix can be 0 N1 0 0 N2 ⋯
obtained as
where N i (i¼ 1, 2, …, 8) are shape functions, shown in Appendix B.
me ¼ I∬A NT NdA ð13Þ For convenience, the sets of weighting functions (w, βx and βy ) are
expressed as the columns of the matrix of interpolation functions
where I ¼ ρh. The same interpolation functions as static case are
½N.
used to obtain the mass matrix. The global equilibrium equations
Using Eqs. (18) and (19) and the sets of weighting functions, we
for dynamic analysis can be obtained in following form:
obtained the following element stiffness matrix:
€
½Muþ½Ku ¼q ð14Þ
½Ke  ¼ ½kG  þ ½kb  þ ½ks  þ ½kτ  ð21Þ
where ½M is global mass matrix. With the substitution of
uðtÞ ¼ ueiωt , the free vibration eigenvalue problem can be obtained where
from Eq. (14) as ½kG  ¼ ∬A ½BG T k½Gh½BG dA ð22aÞ
2
½K−ω ½Mu ¼ 0 ð15Þ
½kb  ¼ ∬A ½Bb T ½D½Bb dA ð22bÞ

2.3. Static bending of Mindlin plate

  h2
ks ¼ ∬A ½Bb T ½Cs ½Bb dA ð22cÞ
In the case of Mindlin plates, the shear deformation must be 2
considered. The governing equations are [11]
½kτ  ¼ −2τxx ∬A Nw Txx Nw dA−2τyy ∬A Nw Tyy Nw dA ð22dÞ
M nx;x þ M nxy;y −V x ¼ 0 ð16aÞ
where ½BG , ½Bb  and Nw are shown in Appendix B. In order to avoid
M nxy;x þ M ny;y −V y ¼ 0 ð16bÞ shear locking, the reduced-integration is used to the stiffness term.
In present case, for an eight-node element, the shear stiffness
V x;x þ V y;y þ q þ 2ðτxx wxx þ τyy wyy Þ ¼ 0 ð16cÞ (22a), the bending stiffness term (22b) and the surface stiffness
term (22c) are obtained by using the 2  2 Gaussian integration
Applying Galerkin's weighted residual method, the following
scheme. Finally, the element nodal force vector is qe ¼ ∬A qNw T dA.
weighted residual equation can be obtained from Eq. (16):
∬A ½ð−V x;x −V y;y −q−2ðτxx w;xx þ τyy w;yy ÞÞw
2.4. Dynamic analysis of Mindlin plate
þð−V x þ M nx;x þ M nxy;y Þβx þ ð−V y þ M nxy;x þ M ny;y Þβy dA ¼ 0 ð17Þ

where w, βx and βy are the weight functions. Using Green's In the dynamic analysis, the element mass matrix can be
theorem on the derivative terms, we can obtain the following: obtained by using the same interpolation functions as the static
case. Therefore the element mass matrix can be expressed as
2
h
∬A ψG T k½GhψG dA þ ∬A ψb T ½Dψb dA þ ∬A ψb T ½Cs ψb dA ½me  ¼ ∬A INw T Nw dA þ J∬A ðNβx T Nβx þ Nβy T Nβy ÞdA ð23Þ
2
−2∬A ðτxx w;xx þ τyy w;yy Þw dA 3
Z Z Z where N βx and N βy are shown in Appendix B. I ¼ ρh and J ¼ ρh =12.
¼ ∬A qw dA þ V n w dS− M nn βn dS− M nT βT dS ð18Þ
S S S

where 3. Numerical results and discussion

" #
G13 0
½G ¼ In order to assess the accuracy of the developed finite element
0 G23 method, the static deflection and frequency of a simply supported
n oT h  s
2 plate made of Si is computed and compared with the analytical
M n;xx M n;yy M n;xy ¼ ½Dψb þ C ψb
2 result. The results from the traditional model are also presented to
½ Vx V y T ¼ k½GhψG get a quantitative assessment of the influence of surface effects.
It is should be noted that the surface elasticity constants and
ψb ¼ ð βx;x βy;y βx;y þ βy;x ÞT residual surface tension can be determined by atomic simulations,
which indicate that the elasticity constants and residual surface
ψb ¼ ð βx;x βy;y βx;y þ βy;x ÞT stresses of some materials (i.e. FCC Al, diamond Si) can be either
h iT
positive or negative, depending on the crystallographic structure
ψG ¼ w;x −βx w;y −βy
h iT of the materials. In the present paper, the bulk and surface elastic
ψG ¼ w;x −βx w;y −βy constants of Si (100) have been obtained by Shenoy [7] by using
the embedded atom method, and the properties are: E ¼ 107 Gpa,
V n ¼ V x nx þ V y ny , βn ¼ nx βx þ ny βy and βT ¼ −ny βx þ nx βy . Here υ ¼ 0:33, μ0 ¼ −2:7779 N=m, λ0 ¼ −4:4939 N=m and τ0 ¼ 0:6056
nx and ny are the components of the outward unit vector normal to N=m.
 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29 25

3.1. Analytical solution for static bending

According to the Kirchhoff plate theory, for a nanoplate of

isotopic material property, the equilibrium equation can be
expressed as [11]
Def f ∇4 w−2τ0 ∇2 w ¼ qðx; yÞ ð24Þ
3 s 2 s
where Def f ¼ ðEh =ð12ð1−ν ÞÞÞ þ ðE h =2Þ and E ¼ 2μ0 þ λ0 . If the
2

lateral loading applied on the plate is qðx; yÞ ¼

q0 sin ðmπx=aÞ sin ðnπy=bÞ, we can obtain the deflection of the plate
from Eq. (24) as follows:
q0 sin ðmπx=aÞ sin ðnπy=bÞ
w¼ ð25Þ
Def f π 4 ½ðm=aÞ2 þ ðn=bÞ2 2 þ 2τ0 π 2 ½ðm=aÞ2 þ ðn=bÞ2 
In the case of a uniformly distributed load q0 on the plate, we
can represent q0 in a double trigonometric series as
16q0 3;5;::: 3;5;::: 1
q0 ¼ ∑ ∑ sin ðmπx=aÞ sin ðnπy=bÞ ð26Þ
π 2 m ¼ 1 m ¼ 1 mn
Fig. 2. Deflection of the Kirchhoff nanoplate with simply supported boundary
Using Eqs. (25) and (26), we can get condition (h ¼10 nm).
3;5;::: 3;5;::: 16q0 sin ðmπx=aÞ sin ðnπy=bÞ
w¼ ∑ ∑ 2 2 2 2 2
m ¼ 1 m ¼ 1 mnπ Def f π ½ðm=aÞ þ ðn=bÞ  þ 2τ 0 ½ðm=aÞ þ ðn=bÞ 
4 4

ð27Þ
Eq. (27) is the solution of a plate with surface effect under a
load q0 uniformly distributed.
According to the Mindlin plate theory, for a plate of isotopic
material property, the equilibrium equation can be expressed
as [11]
 
Def f 2
Def f ∇4 w ¼ 1− ∇ ðqðx; yÞ þ 2τ0 ∇2 wÞ ð28Þ
kGh
where k is the shear factor. Following the above process for the
Kirchhoff plate, we can obtain the deflection of a Mindlin plate
with the surface effect under a uniformly distributed load q0 as
3;5;::: 3;5;::: 16q0 ½1 þ ðmπ=aÞ2 þ ðnπ=bÞ2  sin ðπx=aÞ sin ðπy=bÞ
w¼ ∑ ∑
m ¼ 1 m ¼ 1 mnπ
4D
ef f ð1 þ 2τ0 =k=G=hÞπ 2 ½ðm=aÞ2 þ ðn=bÞ2 2 þ 2τ0 ½ðm=aÞ2 þ ðn=bÞ2 
ð29Þ

3.2. Finite element solution for static bending

Fig. 3. Deflection of the Mindlin nanoplate with simply supported boundary
We chose a square plate whose dimension is a¼ b¼200 nm. condition (h ¼10 nm).
The deflections of the plate based on the Kirchhoff and Mindlin
plate theories are computed by using 14 by 14 elements. For
comparison, the classical solutions which neglect the surface
stress are also presented. Fig. 2 plots the deflection of the simply
supported Kirchhoff plate under a uniformly distributed load
q0 ¼ 1000 kN=m2 . It can be seen that the finite element solution
agrees well with the analytical solution. The relative error is
within 2%. Such accuracy is adequate for most practical applica-
tions. It is also found that the surface effect reduces the deflection
of the plate, this means that the surface effect makes the plate
stiffer.
Fig. 3 shows the deflection of the simply supported Mindlin
plate. Once again, the FEM solution agrees well with the analytical
solution. The relative error is also less than 2%.
In order to show the effect of surface elasticity and residual
surface stress on the deflection of plate with different boundary
conditions, the positive surface elasticity constants μ0 ¼ 2:7779 N=m
and λ0 ¼ 4:4939 N=m and negative residual surface stress
τ0 ¼ −0:6056 N=m are assumed for the calculation. Figs. 4, 5 and 6
show the deflections of plate (at y¼b/2) with cantilever, simply
supported, and clamped boundary conditions, respectively. It is found
that, for a positive residual surface stress, the cantilever nanoplate Fig. 4. Deflections of a cantilever Kirchhoff nanoplate considering surface elasticity
exhibits a softer elastic behavior but the simply supported and and residual surface stress (h ¼15 nm).
26 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29
Fig. 5. Deflections of a simply supported Kirchhoff nanoplate considering surface
elasticity and residual surface stress (h ¼ 15 nm).
Fig. 6. Deflections of a clamped Kirchhoff nanoplate considering surface elasticity
and residual surface stress (h ¼15 nm).
clamped nanoplates exhibit a stiffer elastic behavior (vice versa for a
negative residual surface stress). The similar phenomenon has been
found for the bending of nanowires [22]. This phenomenon can be
explained by Laplace–Young equations 〈sþ −
ij −sij 〉ni nj ¼ τ0 κ αβ , where ni
is the unit vector normal to the surface. From Laplace–Young
equations, it can be seen that the signs of the curvature καβ and
residual surface stress τ0 during the static bending of the nanoplates
determine the stiffer or softer behavior of nanoplates. If the signs of
the curvature κ αβ and residual surface stress τ0 are the same, it can
result in a positive distributed transverse force (which has the same
direction with the external load and will increase the deflection of
the bending nameplate). If the curvature καβ and residual surface
stress τ0 have an opposite sign, it will result in a negative distributed
transverse force. From Fig. 4, it can be seen that a positive residual
surface stress (τ0 4 0) increases the deflection of the nanoplate. This
is due to the fact that a downward curvature occurs in the cantilever
nanoplate. This leads to a positive curvature and results in a positive
distributed force, which increases the deflection of the nanoplate.
In the same way, we can explain that a positive residual surface stress
(τ0 4 0) decreases the deflection of nanoplates with simply sup-
ported boundary conditions (vice versa for τ0 o 0).
As shown in Fig. 5, an upward curvature occurs in the simply
supported nanoplate. This leads to a negative curvature and results
in a negative distributed force which decreases the deflection of
the nanoplate. For the bending of nanoplates with all edges
clamped, both downward and upward curvatures occur in Fig. 6.
Due to the upward curvature was dominant. Therefore, a positive
residual surface stress (τ0 4 0) decreases the deflection of clamped
nanoplate.
From Figs. 4–6, we know that a positive surface elasticity
reduces the deflections of the nanoplates, but the negative one
increases the deflections. Moreover, it is found that the cantilever
plates are most significantly influenced by the surface effects,
followed by the simply supported nanoplates, and clamped
nanoplates. Note that the influence of surface elasticity and
residual surface stress on the deflection of the Mindlin plates is
quite similar to that for the Kirchhoff plates. Therefore, the results
for the Mindlin plates are not shown here.
In order to study the influence of the shear deformation on the
bending deflection of the plates, the solutions of the Kirchhoff and
Mindlin plates are plot in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the shear
deformation makes the plate softer. Therefore, the deflection of
the Mindlin plate is always larger than that of the Kirchhoff plate.
However, the influence of the shear deformation on the deflection
of the plate decreases with decreasing thickness of the plate.
3.3. Analytical solution for free vibration
Based on the Kirchhoff plate theory, the motion governing
equation can be expressed as [11]
€
Def f ∇4 w−2τ0 ∇2 w ¼ −I w ð30Þ
where I ¼ ρh. Under the simply supported boundary condition, we
obtained the natural frequency as
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Def f ðλ2n þ λ2m Þ2 þ 2τ0 ðλ2n þ λ2m Þ
ωnm ¼ ; ðn; m ¼ 1; 2…Þ ð31Þ
I
where λn ¼ nπ=a and λm ¼ mπ=b, a and b are, respectively, the
length and width of the nanoplate. It should be noted that Eq. (31)
can be obtained from our previous study [23] by neglecting the
nonlocal effect (μ ¼ 0).
Based on the Mindlin plate theory, the motion governing
equation can be expressed as [11]
2
€
k Ghðβx;x þ βy;y þ ∇2 wÞ þ 2τ0 ∇2 w ¼ I w ð32aÞ
Fig. 7. Deflection of simply supported nanoplate with different values of thickness.
 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29 27

 
1 1 Table 2
D βx;xx þ ð1−υÞβx;yy þ ð1 þ υÞβy;xy Variation of fundamental natural frequencies of Kirchhoff nanoplate with aspect
2 2
ratio of the plate for simply supported boundary condition (h ¼ 5 nm).
h  
2
þ ð2u0 þ λ0 Þβx;xx þ ðλ0 þ u0 Þβy;xy þ u0 βx;yy
2 Aspect FEM Analytical results Results for classical theory Errors
ratio (GHz) (GHz) (GHz) (%)
−k Ghðβx þ wx Þ ¼ J β€ x
2
ð32bÞ
  a/b ¼ 1 8.5889 8.6501 5.1133 0.7
1 1 a/b ¼ 1.25 10.132 10.215 6.5514 0.81
D βy;yy þ ð1−υÞβy;xx þ ð1 þ υÞβx;xy
2 2 a/b ¼ 1.5 11.956 12.061 8.3091 0.87
a/b ¼ 2 16.437 16.591 12.783 0.93
h  
2
þ ð2u0 þ λ0 Þβy;yy þ ðλ0 þ u0 Þβx;xy þ u0 βy;xx
2
−k Ghðβy þ wy Þ ¼ J β€ y
2
ð32cÞ
Table 3
The natural frequency of a simply supported nanoplate is
Fundamental natural frequencies of Kirchhoff nanoplate with clamped boundary
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi condition.
−g 1 − 3 g 7 − 3 g 8
ωmn ¼ ð33Þ
3g 0 Thickness With surface effect No surface effect Different
(nm) (GHz) (GHz) (%)
Where g 0 , g 1 , g 7 and g 8 are shown in Appendix B. It should be
noted that Eq. (33) can be obtained in our previous study [23] by h¼5 11.701 9.2290 26.79
neglecting the nonlocal effect (μ ¼ 0). h ¼ 10 18.772 18.458 1.7
h ¼ 15 27.535 27.687 0.55
h ¼ 20 36.599 36.916 0.86
3.4. Finite element solution for free vibration

In this subsection, the frequencies of nanoplates based on both Table 4

Kirchhoff and Mindlin plate theories are computed by using Fundamental natural frequencies of cantilever Kirchhoff nanoplates.
10  10 element mesh configuration. Table 1 lists the fundamental
Thickness With surface effect No surface effect Different
frequencies of simply supported nanoplate with varying thick- (nm) (GHz) (GHz) (%)
nesses. Comparing the FEM results with the analysis results, it can
be seen that the error is within 1%. Such accuracy is adequate for h¼5 0.4552 0.8965 49.23
most practical situations. Comparing the fundamental frequencies h ¼ 10 1.5430 1.7929 13.94
h ¼ 15 2.5453 2.6894 5.36
using FEM with the results for classical theory, it found that the h ¼ 20 3.4841 3.5858 2.84
surface effect has a substantial effect on the fundamental frequen-
cies of thinner nanoplate. The influence of the surface effect on the
fundamental frequencies increases with the decreasing thickness
Table 5
of nanoplate.
Fundamental natural frequencies of Kirchhoff nanoplates with only consideration
Table 2 shows the fundamental frequencies of nanoplate with of the residual surface stress (h ¼ 10 nm).
different aspect ratio (a/b). It can be seen that the influence of the
surface effect on fundamental frequencies is more obvious if the SS CC CF
aspect ratio of the nanoplate equals to 1.
τ0 ¼ 0:6056 N=m 11.347 19.269 1.5924
The fundamental frequencies of nanoplate with clamped τ0 ¼ 0 N=m 10.227 18.458 1.7929
boundary condition are shown in Table 3. It is found that when τ0 ¼ −0:6056 N=m 8.8419 17.606 2.0561
the thickness is larger than 15 nm the surface effect may be
neglected since the relative error is within 1%.
Table 4 lists the fundamental frequencies of cantilever name-
plates. It is found that the fundamental frequencies calculated for clamped boundary conditions, but decreases the fundamental
cantilever Si (100) nanoplates are lower than those calculated frequencies of a cantilever nanoplate (and vice versa for a residual
without the surface effect. surface stress).This trends were similar to the case of nanowire
Comparing Tables 1–4, one can conclude that the influence of bending [22]. In addition, a comparison of Tables 1, 3, 4 with
surface effect on the fundamental frequencies of the nanoplate Table 5 suggests that, a negative surface elastic constant decreases
depends on the signs of surface elasticity constants and residual the fundamental frequencies of nanoplates. As an additional
surface stress, nanoplate thickness and boundary conditions. For example, for a simply supported nanoplate with the surface effect,
example, Table 5 shows the fundamental frequencies of nano- the natural frequency has been derived as Eq. (31), and the
plates with only consideration of the residual surface stress. It is classical natural frequency for a simply supported nanoplate is
found that a positive residual surface stress increases the funda- ω2nm ¼ Dðλ2n þ λ2m Þ2 =ρh. The difference is derived as
mental frequencies of nanoplates with simply supported and " #
2
Es h 2
ωs2 2
nm −ωnm ¼ ðλn þ λm Þ þ 2τ0 ðλ2n þ λ2m Þ
2
ð34Þ
Table 1 2
Variation of fundamental natural frequencies of the Kirchhoff nanoplate with
2
thickness of the plate for simply supported boundary condition. For Si [100], Es h ðλ2n þ λ2m Þ=2 o 0 and 2τ0 4 0. When thickness h
is small, the surface effect will increase the frequencies. As
Thickness FEM Analytical results Results for classical theory Errors
(nm) (GHz) (GHz) (GHz) (%)
thickness h increases, Eq. (34) will be negative. At this situation,
the frequency from the FEM with surface effect becomes smaller
h¼5 8.5889 8.6501 5.1133 0.7 than the classical result. Based on this, it is not difficult to
h ¼ 10 11.059 11.180 10.227 1.0 understand why the frequencies from FEM with surface effect
h ¼ 15 15.482 15.638 15.340 1.0
are smaller than the classical results for h ¼15 nm and h¼20 nm,
h ¼ 20 20.324 20.510 20.453 0.9
in Table 3.
28 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29

Table 6 the surface effect can increase or decrease the deflection and
Fundamental natural frequencies of Mindlin nanoplate with simply supported frequencies of the nanoplates, depending on the signs of surface
boundary condition.
elastic constants and residual surface stress, and the boundary
Thickness FEM Analytical results Results for classical theory Errors conditions of the nanoplate. For example, a positive residual
(nm) (GHz) (GHz) (GHz) (%) surface stress increases the deflection of cantilever nanoplates,
but decreases the deflection of nanoplates with simply supported
h ¼ 25 22.176 22.362 22.312 0.83 and clamped boundary conditions (vice versa for a negative
h ¼ 30 25.296 25.505 25.494 0.82
h ¼35 28.197 28.232 28.237 0.12
residual surface stresses). A positive surface elasticity reduces
h ¼ 40 30.358 30.577 30.588 0.72 the deflections of nanoplates (and vice versa for a negative one).
In addition, a positive residual surface stress increases the fre-
quencies of nanoplates with simply supported and clamped
boundary conditions, but reduces the frequencies of a cantilever
nanoplate. The finite element model developed in this paper can
be used to study the static and dynamic behaviors of nanoplates
with complicated geometries, boundary and loading conditions
and material properties. It provides an efficient tool for the
analysis and design of nanoscale plate devices in nanotechnology.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Science Foundation of

China (project ID 11172081) and Shenzhen Research Innovation
Foundation, China (project ID JCYJ20120613150312764).

Appendix A
Fig. 8. A T-shape Si nanoresonator.

2 3 2 3
Table 6 shows the fundamental frequencies of simply sup- D11 D12 0 C s 11 C s 12 0
6D  s
ported Mindlin nanoplates of various values of thickness. ½D ¼ 4 21 D22 0 75; C
6 s
¼ 4 C 21 C s
22 0 7
5
Once again, the relative errors between the FEM results and the 0 0 D66 0 0 C s 66
 
analysis results are less than 1%. The fundamental frequencies N ¼ N1 N2 N3 N4
show a negligible dependency on the surface effect if the thickness 2
N 1 ¼ ½ − 18 ðs−1Þðt−1Þðs2 þ s þ t 2 þ t−2Þ; − 18 bðs−1Þðt−1Þ ðt þ 1Þ;
2
8 aðs−1Þ ðs
1
þ 1Þðt−1Þ 
of the nanoplate is sufficiently large (e.g., 425 nm). Note that the
influence of surface effect on the frequencies of the Mindlin plates N 2 ¼ ½ 18 ðs þ 1Þðt−1Þðs2 −s þ t 2 þ t−2Þ; 1
8 bðs þ 1Þðt−1Þ2 ðt þ 1Þ; 1
8 aðs−1Þðs þ 1Þ2 ðt−1Þ 

is quite similar to that for the Kirchhoff plates. Therefore, N 3 ¼ ½ − 18 ðs þ 1Þðt þ 1Þðs2 −s þ t 2 −t−2Þ; 1
8 bðs þ 1Þðt−1Þðt þ 1Þ ; − 18 aðs−1Þðs þ 1Þ2 ðt þ 1Þ 
2

the results for the Mindlin plates are not shown here.
2 2
N 4 ¼ ½ 18 ðs−1Þðt þ 1Þðs2 þ s þ t 2 −t−2Þ; − 18 bðs−1Þðt−1Þðt þ 1Þ ; − 18 aðs−1Þ ðs þ 1Þðt þ 1Þ 
3.5. Applications of the current model to a MEM/MEMS device
where s ¼ ðx−xc Þ=a and t ¼ ðy−yc Þ=b. (xc ,yc ) is the coordinate of
certain of element.
In this subsection, we use the present FEM to calculate the
fundamental frequency of a T-shape nanoplate silicon nanoreso- 8 2 9
>
>
1 ∂ N>
2 >
nator, which is widely used in MEMS/NEMS [24–26]. The thickness < a ∂s2 >
> 2
=
1 ∂ N
of the plate is h ¼2 nm and the FEM mesh is shown in Fig. 8. B ¼ b2 ∂t 2 ;
>
> >
>
he device has relatively complicated geometries and boundary : 2 ∂2 N >
> ;
ab ∂s∂t
conditions. First, consider the case that edge AB is clamped and the
remaining edges are free. The fundamental frequency of the
resonator is calculated as 41.593 GHZ. If neglecting surface effect,
Appendix B
the fundamental frequency is calculated as 52.126 GHZ. This
suggests that the surface effect decreases the frequency of the
resonator. Next, consider the case that edge AB clamped, edge EF 8
simply supported and the remaining edges free. The fundamental >
> N ¼ − 14 ðs−1Þðt−1Þðs þ t þ 1Þ
> 1
>
>
>
> N 2 ¼ 2 ðs −1Þðt−1Þ
frequencies of the plate calculated are 87.753 GHZ if the surface >
1 2
>
>
effect is included in the model and 90.430 GHZ if the surface effect >
> N 3 ¼ 14 ðt−1Þð−s2 þ ts þ t þ 1Þ
>
>
is ignored. In this boundary condition, the surface effect increases >
>
< N 4 ¼ − 1 ðs þ 1Þðt 2 −1Þ
the frequency of the resonator. 2
>
> N 5 ¼ 14 ðs þ 1Þðt þ 1Þðs þ t−1Þ
>
>
>
>
> N 6 ¼ − 12 ðs2 −1Þðt þ 1Þ
>
>
>
4. Conclusion >
> N 7 ¼ 14 ðs−1Þðt þ 1Þðs−t þ 1Þ
>
>
>
>
: N 8 ¼ 1 ðs−1Þðt 2 −1Þ
A finite element model including the influence of surface 2

elastic and residual surface stress has been derived based on the 2 3
∂N1 ∂N 2
weighted residual method. With the model developed, it is ∂x 0 N1 ∂x 0 ⋯
½BG  T
¼ 4 ∂N1 ∂N 2
5
possible to investigate the size dependence of the static and −N 1 0 −N 2 ⋯
∂y ∂y
dynamic behaviors of nanoplates. Numerical results show that
 K.F. Wang, B.L. Wang / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 74 (2013) 22–29 29

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