Abstract:
This paper studied the effect of electro-mechanical coupling on the surface instability of a three-dimensional elastic conductive body. By adopting the linear perturbation theory, the diffusion-mediated surface instability of the elastic solid subjected to a uniaxial uniform far-field stress in an electric #x0fb01;eld has been analyzed. The curve of the perburbation growth rate versus the disturbance wavenumber is plotted. The elastic strain energy, the surface energy and the electrostatic energy are considered in the analysis. The results indicate that the surface energy always stabilizes the solid surface, the elastic strain energy always promotes the instability and the electrostatic energy destabilizes the surface. The conditions for the onset of instability depend on the Poisson#x02019;s ratio, the relative value of the electric field intensity and the pre-stress. The periodic nanostructures can be formed by the mechanical stress and the electric stress-controlled surface self-assembly which is desirable for making the template for nanoelectronic devices.