Effect of mesh element type of Finite Element Model (FEM) on unimorph cantilever vibration

This paper discusses mesh refinement methods used to perform Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for vibration based MEMS Energy Harvester. The three types of meshing elements, 1) Linear Hexahedral, 2) Parabolic Hexahedral and 3) Parabolic Tetrahedral, were used in this study. The meshing methods are used to ensure accurate simulation result particularly in stress, and strain analysis obtained, since they are determined by the displacement of each node in the physical structure. The study of the accuracy of an mesh analysis is also known as mesh convergence study which element aspect ratios must be refined consistently. In this paper the dimensions of each elements were also varied in order to investigate the significant of this methods in achieving better ratios of simulation to theoretical results.