Phononic band gap materials are capable of prohibiting the propagation of mechanical waves in certain frequency ranges. Band gaps are produced by combining different phases with different properties within one material. In this paper, we present a novel cellular material consisting of only one phase with a phononic band gap. Different phases are modelled by lattice structure design based on eigenmode analysis. Test samples are built from a titanium alloy using selective electron beam melting. For the first time, the predicted phononic band gaps via FEM simulation are experimentally verified. In addition, it is shown how the position and extension of the band gaps can be tuned by utilizing knowledge-based design.

We present a novel approach for gradient based maximization of phononic band gaps. The approach is a geometry projection method combining parametric shape optimization with density based topology optimization. By this approach, we obtain, in a two dimension setting, cellular structures exhibiting relative and normalized band gaps of more than 8 and 1.6, respectively. The controlling parameter is the minimal strut size, which also corresponds with the obtained stiffness of the structure. The resulting design principle is manually interpreted into a three dimensional structure from which cellular metal samples are fabricated by selective electron beam melting. Frequency response diagrams experimentally verify the numerically determined phononic band gaps of the structures. The resulting structures have band gaps down to the audible frequency range, qualifying the structures for an application in noise isolation.

Cellular materials not only show interesting static properties, but can also be used to manipulate dynamic mechanical waves. In this contribution, the existence of phononic band gaps in periodic cellular structures is experimentally shown via sonic transmission experiment. Cellular structures with varying numbers of cells are excited by piezoceramic actuators and the transmitted waves are measured by piezoceramic sensors. The minimum number of cells necessary to form a clear band gap is determined. A rotation of the cells does not have an influence on the formation of the gap, indicating a complete phononic band gap. The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerically obtained dispersion relation.

Periodic cellular structures can exhibit metamaterial properties, such as phononic band gaps. In order to detect these frequency bands of strong wave attenuation experimentally, several devices for wave excitation and measurement can be applied. In this work, piezoelectric transducers are utilized to excite two additively manufactured three-dimensional cellular structures. For the measurement of the transmission factor, we compare two methods. First, the transmitted waves are measured with the same kind of piezoelectric transducer. Second, a laser Doppler vibrometer is employed to scan the mechanical vibrations of the sample on both the emitting and receiving surfaces. The additional comparison of two different methods of spatial averaging of the vibrometer data, that is, the quadratic mean and arithmetic mean, provides insight into the way the piezoelectric transducers convert the transmitted signal. Experimental results are supported by numerical simulations of the dispersion relation and a simplified transmission simulation.

Cellular materials not only show interesting static properties but can also be used to manipulate dynamic mechanical waves. In this contribution, the existence of phononic band gaps in periodic cellular structures is experimentally shown via sonic transmission experiment. Cellular structures with varying numbers of cells are excited by piezoceramic actuators and the transmitted waves are measured by piezoceramic sensors. The minimum number of cells necessary to form a clear band gap is determined. A rotation of the cells does not have an influence on the formation of the gap, indicating a complete phononic band gap. The experimental results are in good agreement with the numerically obtained dispersion relation.