Approximations to wave propagation through a lattice of Dirichlet scatterers

A scheme of matched asymptotic expansions is used to obtain approximations to the dispersion relation when waves, governed by the Helmholtz equation, propagate through a two-dimensional lattice of scatterers on each of which a homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition is imposed. The scatterers must be identical, but can be of any shape as long as each is small relative to the wavelength and the lattice periodicity. The results differ from those obtained using homogenisation in that there is no requirement that the wavelength be much longer than the lattice periodicity, and hence it is possible to describe band gaps.