A simple expression for fluid inertia force acting on micro-plates undergoing squeeze film damping

Abstract

Squeeze film damping in systems employing micro-plates parallel to a substrate and undergoing small normal vibrations is theoretically investigated. In high-density fluids, inertia forces may play a significant role affecting the dynamic response of such systems. Previous models of squeeze film damping taking inertia into account do not clearly isolate this effect from viscous damping. Therefore, currently, there is no simple way to distinguish between these two hydrodynamic effects. This paper presents a simple solution for the hydrodynamic force acting on a plate vibrating in an incompressible fluid, with distinctive terms describing inertia and viscous damping. Similar to the damping constant describing viscous losses, an inertia constant, given by ρL 3 W / h (where ρ is fluid density, L and W are plate length and width, respectively, and h is separation distance), may be used to accurately calculate fluid inertia for small oscillation Reynolds numbers. In contrast with viscous forces that suppress the amplitude of the oscillation, it is found that fluid inertia acts as an added mass, shifting the natural frequency of the system to a lower range while having little effect on the amplitude. Dimensionless parameters describing the relative importance of viscous and inertia effects also emerge from the analysis.