Acoustic black hole designs for circular beams under axial loading

Abstract

Acoustic Black Hole (ABH), as a non-reflecting wave effect, has been realised in beams and plates by locally changing their thickness. Geometrical ABH designs stem from their transverse-load bearing properties, assuming isotropic material properties associated with engineering materials (e.g., steels). The underlying physics is to manipulate stiffness locally for a transversely-loaded structure, leading to a change in the elastic wave speed. However, the same ABH would have limitations for axial loading, i.e., slender beams for which longitudinal waves dominate. Here, we present a wave propagation approach using wavefront tracking to identify a potential ABH for axially-loaded circular beams. We study wave propagation in three exponential designs of finite length, monitoring the wave-travel time. Indicative of an effective ABH in finite length sections, the wave-travel time increases compared to the case of a beam without ABH. By employing the wave front tracking method for the design of an ABH with axial loading, it is possible to verify the effectiveness of ABHs. Also, various material models, e.g., orthotropic materials such as wood, and different loading conditions can be considered, which opens a new avenue in applications of ABH phenomena beyond conventional vibro-acoustic control problems.