Toward understanding solitary wave propagation in composite-cylinders-based 1D granular crystals

Abstract

One-dimensional (1D) granular crystals are demonstrated to be outstanding nonlinear systems for supporting various types of novel stress waves. This letter reports on the investigation of solitary wave propagation within 1D granular crystals based on composite cylinders. We design two types of composite particles by creating a material mismatch within the granular, i.e., core–shell and sandwich types. We discover that such 1D composite granular chains support the formation of strongly nonlinear solitary waves. A finite element model is constructed to describe wave propagation behaviors fully validated by experiments. We conduct a theoretical analysis that agrees with numerical results and uncovers the physical mechanisms of solitary wave propagation in 1D composite granular chains through the parametric study. Finally, the fundamental understanding of dynamic responses is extended to more generalized composite granular chains with sandwich configurations. Results provide in-depth physical understanding and engineering design guidance to quantitatively tailor wave properties through simple 1D granular structures.