Analysis of the dynamic behavior of beams supported by a visco-elastic foundation in context to natural vibrissa

Rodents use their mystacial vibrissae, e.g., to recognize the shape or determine the surface texture of an object. The vibrissal sensory system consists of two components: the hair shaft and the follicle-sinus complex (FSC). Both components affect the collection of information, but the impacts of the different properties are not completely clear. Borrowing the natural example, the goal is to design a powerful artificial sensor. The influence of a continuous visco-elastic support is analyzed for an artificial sensor following hypotheses about the FSC. Starting with a theoretical treatment of this scenario, the vibrissa is modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli bending beam with a partially continuous visco-elastic support. The numerical simulations are validated by experiments. Using a steel strip as a technical vibrissa and a magneto-sensitive elastomer (MSE) as representation of the artificial continuous visco-elastic support, FSC respectively, the first resonance frequency is determined.