Enhanced wave absorption due to local flexibility on wide beams using mass-spring-damper scatterersa).

It is known that total absorption of flexural waves in a thin beam is possible through the use of monopole-dipole scatterers. In this study, we introduce a pair of identical monopole scatterers for near-total absorption of flexural waves in a thin and wide beam. Despite the two scatterers being both of the monopole type, the resonant modes of the scatterer pair exhibit monopole and dipole properties. By selecting the proper width for the beam, the two resonant modes degenerate, which leads to the total absorption. Although the beam is considerably wide, the frequency range of interest remains below the cut-on frequency of the n = 1 propagating mode, ensuring one-dimensional flexural wave propagation. Further simulations and theoretical analysis revealed that the degeneracy of the monopole and dipole modes results from their interaction with a higher-order localized flexural mode. The simulation results demonstrate absorption exceeding 99%, complemented by experimental data showing approximately 90% absorption.

Analytical solutions for single and multiple scattering from rib-stiffened plates in water.

The interaction of an acoustic plane wave with a pair of plates connected by periodically spaced stiffeners in water is considered. The rib-stiffened structure is called a "flex-layer" because its low frequency response is dominated by bending stiffness. The quasi-static behavior is equivalent to a homogeneous layer of compressible fluid, which we identify as air for the purposes of comparison. In this way, an air layer is acoustically the same as a pair of thin elastic plates connected by a periodic spacing of ribs. At discrete higher frequencies, the flex-layer exhibits perfect acoustic transmission, the cause of which is identified as fluid-loaded plate waves propagating back and forth between the ribs. Both the low and finite frequency behavior of the flex-layer are fully explained by closed-form solutions for reflection and transmission. The analytical model is extended to two flex-layers in series, introducing new low and high frequency phenomena that are explained in terms of simple lumped parameter models.

Constant intensity acoustic propagation in the presence of non-uniform properties and impedance discontinuities: Hermitian and non-Hermitian solutions.

Propagation of sound through a non-uniform medium without scattering is possible, in principle, if the density and acoustic compressibility assume complex values, requiring passive and active mechanisms, also known as Hermitian and non-Hermitian solutions, respectively. Two types of constant intensity wave conditions are identified: in the first, the propagating acoustic pressure has constant amplitude, while in the second, the energy flux remains constant. The fundamental problem of transmission across an impedance discontinuity without reflection or energy loss is solved using a combination of monopole and dipole resonators in parallel. The solution depends on an arbitrary phase angle that can be chosen to give a unique acoustic metamaterial with both resonators undamped and passive, requiring purely Hermitian acoustic elements. For other phase angles, one of the two elements must be active and the other passive, resulting in a gain/loss non-Hermitian system. These results prove that uni-directional and reciprocal transmission through a slab separating two half spaces is possible using passive Hermitian acoustic elements without the need to resort to active gain/loss energetic mechanisms.

Broadband acoustic lens design by reciprocity and optimization.

A broadband acoustic lens is designed based on the principle of reciprocity and gradient-based optimization. Acoustic reciprocity is used to define the pressure at the focal point due to a source located in a far-field and to relate the response by a configuration of scatterers for an incident plane wave. The pressure at the focal point is maximized by rearranging the scatterers and supplying the gradients of absolute pressure at the focal point with respect to scatterer positions. Numerical examples are given for clusters of cylindrical voids and sets of elastic thin shells in water.

Design and characterization of a three-dimensional anisotropic additively manufactured pentamode material.

A metamaterial of particular interest for underwater applications is the three-dimensional (3D) anisotropic pentamode (PM), i.e., a structure designed to support a single longitudinal wave with a sound speed that depends on the propagation direction. The present work attempts to experimentally verify anisotropic sound speeds predicted by finite element simulations using additively manufactured anisotropic 3D PM samples made of titanium. The samples were suspended in front of a plane wave source emitting a broadband chirp in a water tank to measure time of flight for wavefronts with and without the PM present. The measurement utilizes a deconvolution method that extracts the band limited impulse response of data gathered by a scanning hydrophone in a plane of constant depth behind the samples. Supporting material takes the form of finite element simulations developed to model the response of a semi-infinite PM medium to an incident normal plane wave. A technique to extract the longitudinal PM wave speed for frequency domain simulations based on Fourier series expansions is given.

Stress formulation of elastic wave motion.

Propagation of elastic waves in anisotropic solids is solved through a pure stress formalism. The stress solutions lead to the three wave solutions expected from the displacement formulation plus three non-propagating stresses with zero wave speed which do not satisfy the strain compatibility conditions. This work provides a different perspective to modeling elastic waves and is expected to be better suited for certain types of problems.

E2 and Gamma distributions in polygonal networks.

From solar supergranulation to salt flat in Bolivia, from veins on leaves to cells on Drosophila wing discs, polygon-based networks exhibit great complexities, yet similarities and consistent patterns emerge. Based on analysis of 99 polygonal tessellations of a wide variety of physical origins, this work demonstrates the ubiquity of an exponential distribution in the squared norm of the deformation tensor, E2, which directly leads to the ubiquitous presence of Gamma distributions in polygon aspect ratio as recently demonstrated by Atia et al. [Nat. Phys. 14, 613 (2018)]. In turn an analytical approach is developed to illustrate its origin. E2 relates to most energy forms, and its Boltzmann-like feature allows the definition of a pseudo-temperature that promises utility in a thermodynamic ensemble framework.

Static elastic cloaking, low-frequency elastic wave transparency and neutral inclusions.

New connections between static elastic cloaking, low-frequency elastic wave scattering and neutral inclusions (NIs) are established in the context of two-dimensional elasticity. A cylindrical core surrounded by a cylindrical shell is embedded in a uniform elastic matrix. Given the core and matrix properties, we answer the questions of how to select the shell material such that (i) it acts as a static elastic cloak, and (ii) it eliminates low-frequency scattering of incident elastic waves. It is shown that static cloaking (i) requires an anisotropic shell, whereas scattering reduction (ii) can be satisfied more simply with isotropic materials. Implicit solutions for the shell material are obtained by considering the core-shell composite cylinder as a neutral elastic inclusion. Two types of NI are distinguished, weak and strong with the former equivalent to low-frequency transparency and the classical Christensen and Lo generalized self-consistent result for in-plane shear from 1979. Our introduction of the strong NI is an important extension of this result in that we show that standard anisotropic shells can act as perfect static cloaks, contrasting previous work that has employed 'unphysical' materials. The relationships between low-frequency transparency, static cloaking and NIs provide the material designer with options for achieving elastic cloaking in the quasi-static limit.

Non-symmetric flexural wave scattering and one-way extreme absorption.

The possibility of asymmetric absorption and reflection for flexural waves is demonstrated through analytical and numerical examples. The emphasis is on the one-dimensional (1D) case of flexural motion of a beam for which combinations of point scatterers are considered, which together provide asymmetric scattering. The scatterers are attached damped oscillators characterized by effective impedances, analogous to effective configurations in 1D acoustic waveguides. By selecting the impedances of a pair of closely spaced scatterers it is shown that it is possible to obtain almost total absorption for incidence on one side, with almost total reflection if incident from the other side. The one-way absorption is illustrated through numerous examples of impedance pairs that satisfy the necessary conditions for zero reflectivity for incidence from one direction. Examples of almost total and zero reflection for different incidences are examined in detail, showing the distinct wave dynamics of flexural waves as compared with acoustics.

Integral identities for reflection, transmission, and scattering coefficients.

Several integral identities related to acoustic scattering are presented. In each case the identity involves the integral over frequency of a physical quantity. For instance, the integrated transmission loss, a measure of the transmitted acoustic energy through an inhomogeneous layer, is shown to have a simple expression in terms of spatially averaged physical quantities. Known identities for the extinction cross section and for the acoustic energy loss in a slab with a rigid backing, are shown to be special cases of a general procedure for finding such integral identities.

Acoustic scattering from a fluid cylinder with Willis constitutive properties.

A material that exhibits Willis coupling has constitutive equations that couple the pressure-strain and momentum-velocity relationships. This coupling arises from subwavelength asymmetry and non-locality in heterogeneous media. This paper considers the problem of the scattering of a plane wave by a cylinder exhibiting Willis coupling using both analytical and numerical approaches. First, a perturbation method is used to describe the influence of Willis coupling on the scattered field to a first-order approximation. A higher order analysis of the scattering based on generalized impedances is then derived. Finally, a finite-element method-based numerical scheme for calculating the scattered field is presented. These three analyses are compared and show strong agreement for low to moderate levels of Willis coupling.

Broadband focusing of underwater sound using a transparent pentamode lens.

An inhomogeneous acoustic metamaterial lens based on spatial variation of refractive index for broadband focusing of underwater sound is reported. The index gradient follows a modified hyperbolic secant profile designed to reduce aberration and suppress side lobes. The gradient index (GRIN) lens is comprised of transversely isotropic hexagonal microstructures with tunable quasi-static bulk modulus and mass density. In addition, the unit cells are impedance-matched to water and have in-plane shear modulus negligible compared to the effective bulk modulus. The flat GRIN lens is fabricated by cutting hexagonal centimeter scale hollow microstructures in aluminum plates, which are then stacked and sealed from the exterior water. Broadband focusing effects are observed within the homogenization regime of the lattice in both finite element simulations and underwater measurements (20-40 kHz). This design approach has potential applications in medical ultrasound imaging and underwater acoustic communications.

Bounds on the longitudinal and shear wave attenuation ratio of polycrystalline materials.

A lower bound to the longitudinal and shear attenuation ratio was recently derived for viscoelastic materials [Norris, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 141, 475-479 (2017)]. This letter provides proof that a similar bound is present for low-frequency attenuation constants of polycrystals caused by grain scattering. An additional upper bound to the attenuation ratio is unveiled. Both bounds are proven to be combinations of wave speeds. The upper and lower bounds correspond with the vanishing of the second-order anisotropy of the bulk and shear modulus, respectively. A link to the polycrystalline Poisson's ratio is highlighted, which completely bounds the attenuation ratio. An analysis of 2176 crystalline materials was conducted to further verify the bounds.

An inequality for longitudinal and transverse wave attenuation coefficients.

Total absorption, defined as the net flux of energy out of a bounded region averaged over one cycle for time harmonic motion, must be non-negative when there are no sources of energy within the region. This passivity condition places constraints on the non-dimensional absorption coefficients of longitudinal and transverse waves, γL and γT, in isotropic linearly viscoelastic materials. Typically, γL, γT are small, in which case the constraints imply that coefficients of attenuation per unit length, αL, αT, must satisfy the inequality αL/αT≥4cT3/3cL3 where cL, cT are the wave speeds. This inequality, which as far as the author is aware, has not been presented before, provides a relative bound on wave speed in terms of attenuation, or vice versa. It also serves as a check on the consistency of ultrasonic measurements from the literature, with most but not all of the data considered passing the positive absorption test.

Acoustic Poisson-like effect in periodic structures.

Redirection of acoustic energy by 90° is shown to be possible in an otherwise acoustically transparent sonic crystal. An unresponsive "deaf" antisymmetric mode is excited by matching Bragg scattering with a quadrupole scatterer resonance. The dynamic effect causes normal unidirectional wave motion to strongly couple to perpendicular motion, analogous to the quasi-static Poisson effect in solids. The Poisson-like effect is demonstrated using the first flexural resonance in cylindrical shells of elastic solids. Simulations for a finite array of acrylic shells that are impedance and index matched to water show dramatic acoustic energy redirection in an otherwise acoustically transparent medium.

A high transmission broadband gradient index lens using elastic shell acoustic metamaterial elements.

The use of cylindrical elastic shells as elements in acoustic metamaterial devices is demonstrated through simulations and underwater measurements of a cylindrical-to-plane wave lens. Transformation acoustics of a circular region to a square dictate that the effective density in the lens remain constant and equal to that of water. Piecewise approximation to the desired effective compressibility is achieved using a square array with elements based on the elastic shell metamaterial concept developed by Titovich and Norris [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 136(4), 1601-1609 (2014)]. The sizes of the elements are chosen based on availability of shells, minimizing fabrication difficulties. The tested device is neutrally buoyant comprising 48 elements of nine different types of commercial shells made from aluminum, brass, copper, and polymers. Simulations indicate a broadband range in which the device acts as a cylindrical to plane wave lens. The experimental findings confirm the broadband quadropolar response from approximately 20 to 40 kHz, with positive gain of the radiation pattern in the four plane wave directions.

Focusing, refraction, and asymmetric transmission of elastic waves in solid metamaterials with aligned parallel gaps.

Gradient index (GRIN), refractive, and asymmetric transmission devices for elastic waves are designed using a solid with aligned parallel gaps. The gaps are assumed to be thin so that they can be considered as parallel cracks separating elastic plate waveguides. The plates do not interact with one another directly, only at their ends where they connect to the exterior solid. To formulate the transmission and reflection coefficients for SV- and P-waves, an analytical model is established using thin plate theory that couples the waveguide modes with the waves in the exterior body. The GRIN lens is designed by varying the thickness of the plates to achieve different flexural wave speeds. The refractive effect of SV-waves is achieved by designing the slope of the edge of the plate array, and keeping the ratio between plate length and flexural wavelength fixed. The asymmetric transmission of P-waves is achieved by sending an incident P-wave at a critical angle, at which total conversion to SV-wave occurs. An array of parallel gaps perpendicular to the propagation direction of the reflected waves stop the SV-wave but let P-waves travel through. Examples of focusing, steering, and asymmetric transmission devices are discussed.

Scattering of flexural waves from a hole in a thin plate with an internal beam.

The scattering of flexural waves by a hole in a thin plate traversed by a beam is modeled here by coupling the Kirchhoff-Love and the Euler-Bernoulli theories. A closed form expression is obtained for the transfer matrix (T-matrix) relating the incident wave to the scattered cylindrical waves. For this purpose, a general method has been developed, based on an analogous impedance method for acoustic waves, for calculating the T-matrix for flexural wave scattering problems. The T-matrix for the problem considered displays a simple structure, composed of distinct sub-matrices which decouple the inside and the outside fields. The conservation of energy principle and numerical comparisons with a commercial finite element simulator have been used to prove the theory.