Study of wave dispersion in periodic composites by higher-order asymptotic homogenization method

We present [1] an application of the higher-order asymptotic homogenization method (AHM) to the study of wave dispersion in periodic composite materials. When the wavelength of a travelling signal becomes comparable to the size of heterogeneities, successive reflections and refractions of the waves at the components interfaces lead to the formation of a complicated sequence of pass and stop frequency bands. The AHM provides a long-wave approximation valid in the low frequency range. Solution for the high frequencies is obtained on the basis of the Floquet–Bloch theorem by the plane-wave (PW) expansions method. Anti-plane shear waves in a fibre-reinforced composite with a square lattice of cylindrical fibres are considered. The dispersion curves are obtained, the pass and stop bands are identified. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Topology optimization of periodic Mindlin plates

Periodic structures exhibit unique dynamic characteristics that make them act as tunable mechanical filters for wave propagation. As a result, waves can propagate along the periodic structures only within specific frequency bands called the ‘pass bands’ and wave propagation is completely blocked within other frequency bands called the ‘stop bands’ or ‘band gaps’. The spectral width of these bands can be optimized using topology optimization. In this paper, topology optimization is used to maximize the fundamental natural frequency of Mindlin plates while enforcing periodicity. A finite element model for Mindlin plates is presented and used along with an optimization algorithm that accounts for the periodicity constraint in order to determine the optimal topologies of plates with various periodic configurations. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design optimization approach in generating periodic plates with optimal natural frequency and wide stop bands. The presented approach can be invaluable design tool for many structures in order to control the wave propagation in an attempt to stop/confine the propagation of undesirable disturbances.     

All-angle-negative-refraction and ultra-refraction for liquid surface waves in 2D phononic crystals

We analyse transport properties of linear liquid waves propagating within arrays of immersed rigid circular cylindrical obstacles fixed to a rough bottom. A comparison between Multipole and Finite Element methods is drawn in the case of Robin boundary conditions coupled with Floquet-Bloch boundary conditions. We find that the first band is concave yet nearly flat (associated waves of small negative group velocity) and it displays a cut-off (zero-frequency stop band associated with a singular perturbation). Thanks to this anomalous dispersion in such fluid filled structures, we achieve both ultra-refraction and negative refraction for waves propagating at their surface. Potential applications lie in a omnidirective ‘water antenna’ and a convergent flat ‘water lens’. The latter one is demonstrated experimentally.     

Effective wave propagation in a prestressed nonlinear elastic composite bar

The problem of determining the effective incremental responseof nonlinearly elastic composite materials given some initialprestress is of interest in numerous application areas. In particular,the case when small-amplitude elastic waves pass through a prestressedinhomogeneous structure is of great importance. Of specificinterest is how the initial finite deformation affects the microstructureand thus the subsequent response of the composite. Modellingthis effect is in general extremely difficult. In this article,we consider the simplest problem of this type where the materialis a one dimensional composite bar consisting of two distinctphases periodically distributed. Neglecting lateral contractions,the initial deformation is thus piecewise homogeneous and wecan therefore determine the incremental behaviour semi-analytically,given the constitutive behaviour (strain energy function) ofthe phases in question. We apply asymptotic homogenization theoryin the deformed configuration in order to find the effectiveresponse of the deformed material in the low-frequency limitwhere the wavelength of the propagating waves is much longerthan the characteristic length scale of the microstructure.We close by considering the arbitrary frequency case and illustratehow the initial deformation affects the location of stop bandsand pass bands of the material. Work is under way to confirmthese results experimentally.     

Band gaps and vibration of strongly heterogeneous Reissner–Mindlin elastic plates

We consider an elastic plate governed by the Reissner–Mindlin?s model, i.e., whose equilibrium equations introduce a coupling between the vertical displacement and the rotation of the normal. This structure is made of a composite with a periodic arrangement of strongly heterogeneous materials and some characteristics of the heterogeneities are comparable to the size of the microstructures. We show that, when the size of the microstructures tends to zero, the limit homogeneous structure presents, for some wavelengths, a negative “mass density” tensor. This means that there exist intervals of frequencies – the band gaps – for which wave propagation is suppressed, or restricted to certain polarizations.     

The whispering surface effect

The representation theory of symmetry groups, together with variational and functional-topological methods, are used in a two-dimensional formulation to investigate the waveguide properties of one-dimensionally periodic surfaces (OPS) and interfaces. It is established that all surfaces on which the Neumann condition is satisfied possess the waveguide property—they are open waveguides. This means that there are waves localized in the neighbourhood of the surface which propagate along it without attenuation—waveguide modes. It is shown that for any hard OPS there is always a transmission band of waveguide frequencies, localized in the neighbourhood of zero—the whispering surface effect. Anomalous oscillations localized around OPSs on which the Neumann condition is satisfied are observed and investigated. Examples of surfaces for which anomalous oscillations exist and others for which none exist are presented. It is proved that OPSs on which the Dirichlet condition holds do not have a transmission band for waveguide frequencies in the neighbourhood of zero, and for some frequency bands they do not have waveguide and anomalous properties. It is shown that one-dimensionally periodic interfaces of two media possess waveguide and anomalous properties, provided that the parameters satisfy certain relationships. It is established that if the interface has the waveguide property, then transmission band of frequencies will always exist localized in the neighbourhood of zero—the whispering interface effect. An example is presented in which anomalous oscillations are investigated, dispersion relations are derived and pass and stop bands for waveguide modes are determined.     

Bandes phononiques interdites en élasticité linéarisée

In this Note we rigorously justify the existence of elastic band gaps in three-dimensional periodic composite materials with strong heterogeneities. In particular, we show how to compute these bands. To cite this article: A. Ávila et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 340 (2005).     

Nondestructive Evaluation of One-Dimensional Periodic Structures by Transmission of Laser-Excited Wide-Band Acoustic Pulses

The propagation of ultrasound in a one-dimensional model and actual periodic structures (PSs) is studied experimentally by the method of optoacoustic spectroscopy based on the laser thermooptical excitation and wide-band piezodetection of short acoustic pulses. It is shown that the ultrasound transmission spectrum of a PS has stop and pass bands, and the greater the number of layers in the PSs, the deeper the stop bands. The case where the thickness, density, and ultrasound velocity of one or several layers in the PS are modified is studied in detail. In this case, a narrow local maximum of ultrasound transmission appears in the stop band, whose location depends considerably on the position of the defective layer in the PS. The experimental data obtained coincide well with the theoretical calculation. The nondestructive evaluation of actual PSs consisting of two epoxy-glued identical aluminum plates is carried out by the optoacoustic method. Such materials are widely used in aircraft industry. It is shown that the ultrasound transmission spectrum for these materials depends considerably on the thickness of the epoxy-glue layer.     

The FDTD simulation for the performance of dispersive cloak devices

In this paper, we defined the scattering energy intensity based on the Poynting vector to quantitatively study the cloak effect of electromagnetic waves in the time domain. The influences of the effective working frequency bands of four kinds of electromagnetic cloak materials, incidence angle of electromagnetic waves and the number of approximately cloak layers on the cloak effect are studied. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to use the time domain method to quantitatively study the effective working frequency band and the scattering energy intensity of cloak materials.     

Wave Properties of Double One-Dimensional Periodic Sheet Grating

We show that the double one-dimensional periodic sheet gratings always have waveguide properties for acoustic waves. In general, there are two types of pass bands: i.e., the connected sets of frequencies for which there exist harmonic acoustic traveling waves propagating in the direction of periodicity and localized in the neighborhood of the grating. Using numerical-analytical methods, we describe the dispersion relations for these waves, pass bands, and their dependence on the geometric parameters of the problem. The phenomenon is discovered of bifurcation of waveguide frequencies with respect to the parameter of the distance between the gratings that decreases from infinity. Some estimates are obtained for the parameters of frequency splitting or fusion in dependence on the distance between the simple blade gratings forming the double grating. We show that near a double sheet grating there always exist standing waves (in-phase oscillations in the neighboring fundamental cells of the group of translations) localized near the grating. By numerical-analytical methods, the dependences of the standing wave frequencies on the geometric parameters of the grating are determined. The mechanics is described of traveling and standing waves localized in the neighborhood of the double gratings.     

Guided ultrasonic waves in composite cylinders

The ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation of composite cylinders requires a thorough understanding of the propagation of waves in these materials. In this paper, the propagation of flexural and longitudinal guided waves in fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) rods with transversely isotropic symmetry properties is studied. The frequency equations obtained for free cylinders and the effect of increased fiber volume fraction (increased anisotropy) on the dispersion characteristics of the rod are explored. The numerical results reveal a number of previously unnoticed characteristics of dispersion curves for composite cylinders. The mode shapes of longitudinal waves propagating in glass/epoxy cylinders are also plotted. These plots can be used to choose an appropriate strategy for inspecting composite cylinders by ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation techniques. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 411–426, May–June, 2007.     

Parametric representation of wave propagation in non‐uniform media (both in transmission and stop bands)

An analytical approach based on the parametric representation of the wave propagation in non‐uniform media was considered. In addition to the previously developed theory of parametric antiresonance describing the field attenuation in stop bands, in the present paper, the behaviour of the Bloch wave in a transmission band was investigated. A wide class of exact solutions was found, and the correspondence to the quasi‐periodic Floquet solutions was shown. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The band spectrum of the periodic Airy–Schrödinger operator on the real line

We introduce the periodic Airy–Schrödinger operator and we describe its band spectrum. This is an example of solvable model with a periodic potential which is not differentiable at its extrema. We prove that there exists a sequence of explicit constants giving upper bounds of the semiclassical parameter for which explicit estimates are valid. We completely determine the behaviour of the edges of the first spectral band with respect to the semiclassical parameter. Then, we investigate the spectral bands and gaps situated in the range of the potential. We prove precise estimates on the widths of these spectral bands and these spectral gaps and we determine an upper bound on the integrated spectral density in this range. Finally, we get estimates of the edges of spectral bands and thus of the widths of spectral bands and spectral gaps which are stated for values of the semiclassical parameter in fixed intervals.     

Small-amplitude capillary-gravity water waves: Exact solutions and particle motion beneath such waves

Two-dimensional periodic surface waves propagating under the combined influence of gravity and surface tension on water of finite depth are considered. Within the framework of small-amplitude waves, we find the exact solutions of the nonlinear differential equation system which describes the particle motion in the considered case, and we describe the possible particle trajectories. The required computations involve elliptic integrals of the first kind, the Legendre normal form and a solvable Abel differential equation of the second kind. Some graphs of the results are included.     

The propagation of elastic waves in composite materials reinforced with piezoelectric fibres

The propagation of longitudinal elastic waves in composite materials, consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced by continuous fibres in one direction, is considered. The reinforcing fibres have piezoelectric properties and have a thin current-conducting coating (“shunted fibres”). The scattering of electric energy in such materials leads to dispersion of the velocity of the elastic waves and to their attenuation. The effective-field method is used to determine the macroscopic electroelastic constants of such composites. These constants enable one to obtain, in explicit form, the frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the wave number of a longitudinal wave, propagating along the reinforcement direction, and also their dependenc on the physical and geometrical characteristics of the components.     

Micromechanics of Electro- and Magneto-active Soft Composites

We study the coupled behavior in soft active microstructured materials undergoing large deformations in the presence of an external electric or magnetic field. We focus on the role of the microstructures on the coupled behavior, and examine the phenomenon in the composites with (a) periodic composites with rectangular and hexagonal periodic unit cells, and (b) in composites with the random distributions of active particles embedded in a soft matrix. We show that for these similar microstructures exhibit very different responses in terms of the actuation, and the coupling phenomenon. Next, we consider the macroscopic and microscopic instabilities in the active composites. We show that the external field has a significant influence of the instability phenomena, and can stabilize or destabilize the composites depending on the direction relative to composite geometry. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Non-Homogeneous Media

We consider electromagnetic waves propagating in a periodic medium characterized by two small scales. We perform the corresponding homogenization process, relying on the modelling by Maxwell partial differential equations.     

Thermoelastic homogenization of periodic composites using an eigenstrain-based micromechanical model

This paper presents a study on effective thermoelastic properties of composite materials with periodic microstructures. The overall elastic moduli and coefficients of thermal expansion of such materials are evaluated by a micromechanical model based on the Eshelby equivalent inclusion approach. The model employs Fourier series in the representation of the periodic strain and displacement fields involved in the homogenization procedures and uses the Levin's formula for determining the effective coefficients of thermal expansion. Two main objectives can be highlighted in the work. The first of them is the implementation and application of an efficient strategy for computation of the average eigenstrain vector which represents a crucial task required by the thermoelastic homogenization model. The second objective consists in a detailed investigation on the behavior of the model, considering the convergence of results and efficiency of the strategy used to obtain the approximate solution of the elastic homogenization problem. Analyses on the complexity of the eigenstrain fields in function of the inclusion volume fractions and contrasts between the elastic moduli of the constituent phases are also included in the investigation. Comparisons with results provided by other micromechanical methods and experimental data demonstrate the very good performance of the presented model.     

How do dispersal rates affect the transition from periodic to irregular spatio-temporal oscillations in invasive predator–prey systems?

When one considers the spatial aspects of a cyclic predator–prey interaction, ecological events such as invasions can generate periodic travelling waves (PTWs)—sometimes known as wavetrains. In certain instances PTWs may destabilise into spatio-temporal irregularity due to convective type instabilities, which permit a fixed width band of PTWs to develop behind the propagating invasion front. In this paper, we detail how one can locate this transition when one has unequal predator and prey dispersal rates. We do this by using absolute stability theory combined with a recent derivation of the amplitude of PTWs behind invasion. This work is applicable to a wide range of reaction–diffusion type predator–prey models, but in this paper we apply it to a specific set of equations (the Leslie–May model). We show that the width of PTW band increases/decreases when the ratio of prey and predator dispersal rates is large/small.     

Resonance spectrum for one-dimensional layered media

We consider the “weighted” operator P_k=????_x a(x)? _x on the real line with a step-like coefficient which appears when propagation of waves through a finite slab of a periodic medium is studied. The medium is transparent at certain resonant frequencies which are related to the complex resonance spectrum of P_k. If the coefficient is periodic on a finite interval (locally periodic) with k identical cells, then the resonance spectrum of P_k has band structure. In the article, we study a transition to semi-infinite medium by taking the limit k→?∞?. The bands of resonances in the complex lower half plane are localized below the band spectrum of the corresponding periodic problem (k=∞) with k???1 or k resonances in each band. We prove that as k→?∞?, the resonance spectrum converges to the real axis.