Tuning sound with soft dielectrics

Soft dielectric tubes undergo large deformations when subjected to radial voltage. Using the theory of nonlinear electroelasticity, we investigate how voltage-controlled deformations of these tubes in an array alter acoustic wave propagation through it. We show that the propagation is annihilated ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Smart materials and structures 2017-04, Vol.26 (4), p.45028
Main Authors: Bortot, Eliana, Shmuel, Gal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acoustics
dielectric elastomer
nonlinear elasticity
snap-through instability
sonic band gap
tunable phononic crystal
wave propagation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Soft dielectric tubes undergo large deformations when subjected to radial voltage. Using the theory of nonlinear electroelasticity, we investigate how voltage-controlled deformations of these tubes in an array alter acoustic wave propagation through it. We show that the propagation is annihilated across a certain audible frequency range, referred to as a sonic band gap. We carry out a numerical study, to find that the band gap depends nonlinearly on the voltage, owing to geometrical and material nonlinearities. By analyzing different mechanical constraints, we demonstrate that snap-through instabilities resulting from these nonlinearities can be harnessed to achieve sharp transitions in the gap width. Our conclusions hint at a new strategy to adaptively filter sound using a simple control parameter-an applied voltage.
ISSN:0964-1726
1361-665X
DOI:10.1088/1361-665X/aa6387