M. Badreddine Assouar

Propagation of acoustic waves and waveguiding in a two-dimensional locally resonant phononic crystal plate

We demonstrate the waveguiding of Lamb waves in a locally resonant phononic crystal (LRPC) and we present an analysis of the guiding of elastic waves in straight and bent waveguides. The finite element method combined with the supercell technique was used to analyze the band gap and the dispersion relation of LRPC waveguides. Unlike the traditional phononic crystals, we show the possibility of guiding only one confined mode inside a LRPC waveguide. We discuss the confinement and the transmission of the guided mode as a function of the width of the waveguide based on both the band structure and the displacement field.

Enlargement of a locally resonant sonic band gap by using double-sides stubbed phononic plates

We report on the theoretical analysis of the enlargement of locally resonant acoustic band gap in two-dimensional sonic crystals based on a double-side stubbed plate. A significant enlargement of the relative bandwidth by a factor of 2 compared to the classical one-side stubbed plates is obtained and discussed. Based on an efficient finite element method, we show that this band gap enlargement is due to the coupling between the same nature of the resonant eigenmodes (in-plane or out-of-plane) of the stubs located in each plate side, producing a strong interaction with the plate’s Lamb modes. Acoustic displacement fields are computed to illustrate such mechanism and to discuss the physics behind it.

Broadband plate-type acoustic metamaterial for low-frequency sound attenuation

We show experimentally that plate-type acoustic metamaterials can serve to totally prohibit low frequency structure-borne sound at selective resonance frequencies ranging from 650 to 3500 Hz. Our metamaterial structures are consisting of a periodic arrangement of composite stubs (tungsten/silicone rubber) deposited on a thin aluminium plate. We report that these metamaterials present a broadband gap of out-of-plane modes at frequencies where the relevant sound wavelength in air is about three orders of magnitude larger than the plate thickness. Confinement and waveguiding of structure-borne sound in this sub-wavelength resonant regime is also experimentally evidenced and discussed.

Theory of metascreen-based acoustic passive phased array

The metascreen-based acoustic passive phased array provides a new degree of freedom for manipulating acoustic waves due to their fascinating properties, such as a fully shifting phase, keeping impedance matching, and holding subwavelength spatial resolution. We develop acoustic theories to analyze the transmission/reflection spectra and the refracted pressure fields of a metascreen composed of elements with four Helmholtz resonators (HRs) in series and a straight pipe. We find that these properties are also valid under oblique incidence with large angles, with the underlying physics stemming from the hybrid resonances between the HRs and the straight pipe. By imposing the desired phase profiles, the refracted fields can be tailored in an anomalous yet controllable manner. In particular, two types of negative refraction are exhibited, based on two distinct mechanisms: one is formed from classical diffraction theory and the other is dominated by the periodicity of the metascreen. Positive (normal) and negative refractions can be converted by simply changing the incident angle, with the coexistence of two types of refraction in a certain range of incident angles.

In situ high-temperature characterization of AlN-based surface acoustic wave devices

We report on in situ electrical measurements of surface acoustic wave delay lines based on AlN/sapphire structure and iridium interdigital transducers between 20 °C and 1050 °C under vacuum conditions. The devices show a great potential for temperature sensing applications. Burnout is only observed after 60 h at 1050 °C and is mainly attributed to the agglomeration phenomena undergone by the Ir transducers. However, despite the vacuum conditions, a significant oxidation of the AlN film is observed, pointing out the limitation of the considered structure at least at such extreme temperatures. Original structures overcoming this limitation are then proposed and discussed.

Surface acoustic wave band gaps in a diamond-based two-dimensional locally resonant phononic crystal for high frequency applications

We report on the theoretical investigation of a locally resonant phononic crystal operating in a hypersonic regime. Through the computation of the band structure and the acoustic displacement field of a two-dimensional array composed of aluminum stubs squarely arranged on a diamond semi-infinite substrate, we show the propagation of guided surface waves in the nonradiative region of diamond substrate (sound cone), as limited by the slowest bulk acoustic wave velocity. Owing to its highest acoustic velocities among all materials, diamond offers a very large nonradiative region allowing band gaps opening for surface acoustic waves. We show that hypersonic band gaps are opened in the nonradiative region as a result of local resonances of aluminum stubs which interact with the guided surface modes propagating on the diamond surface. In addition to the computation of band structure of surface acoustic waves, here, using local resonance mechanism in aluminum/diamond semi-infinite structure, we show that we can ...

General analytical approach for sound transmission loss analysis through a thick metamaterial plate

We report theoretically and numerically on the sound transmission loss performance through a thick plate-type acoustic metamaterial made of spring-mass resonators attached to the surface of a homogeneous elastic plate. Two general analytical approaches based on plane wave expansion were developed to calculate both the sound transmission loss through the metamaterial plate (thick and thin) and its band structure. The first one can be applied to thick plate systems to study the sound transmission for any normal or oblique incident sound pressure. The second approach gives the metamaterial dispersion behavior to describe the vibrational motions of the plate, which helps to understand the physics behind sound radiation through air by the structure. Computed results show that high sound transmission loss up to 72 dB at 2 kHz is reached with a thick metamaterial plate while only 23 dB can be obtained for a simple homogeneous plate with the same thickness. Such plate-type acoustic metamaterial can be a very effective solution for high performance sound insulation and structural vibration shielding in the very low-frequency range.

Analysis of surface acoustic wave propagation in a two-dimensional phononic crystal

In this paper, we present a numerical technique to calculate the surface acoustic wave (SAW) in a two-dimensional phononic crystal (PC). By the technique, the SAW in the system, which is obtained by adding an additional composite surface layer on the xy-cut surface of a two-dimensional PC, is investigated. Result shows that the behavior of SAW in the studied system is mainly determined by the residual penetration depth of the SAW into the PC structure. Based on this understanding, we show that the SAW in the band gap of the PC can be controlled efficiently by changing the structure of the surface layer.

Acoustic superfocusing by solid phononic crystals

We propose a solid phononic crystal lens capable of acoustic superfocusing beyond the diffraction limit. The unit cell of the crystal is formed by four rigid cylinders in a hosting material with a cavity arranged in the center. Theoretical studies reveal that the solid lens produces both negative refraction to focus propagating waves and surface states to amplify evanescent waves. Numerical analyses of the superfocusing effect of the considered solid phononic lens are presented with a separated source excitation to the lens. In this case, acoustic superfocusing beyond the diffraction limit is evidenced. Compared to the fluid phononic lenses, the solid lens is more suitable for ultrasonic imaging applications.

Subwavelength acoustic focusing by surface-wave-resonance enhanced transmission in doubly negative acoustic metamaterials

We present analytical and numerical analyses of a yet unseen lensing paradigm that is based on a solid metamaterial slab in which the wave excitation source is attached. We propose and demonstrate sub-diffraction-limited acoustic focusing induced by surface resonant states in doubly negative metamaterials. The enhancement of evanescent waves across the metamaterial slab produced by their resonant coupling to surface waves is evidenced and quantitatively determined. The effect of metamaterial parameters on surface states, transmission, and wavenumber bandwidth is clearly identified. Based on this concept consisting of a wave source attached on the metamaterial, a high resolution of λ/28.4 is obtained with the optimum effective physical parameters, opening then an exciting way to design acoustic metamaterials for ultrasonic focused imaging.