Elastic wave insulation and propagation control based on the programmable curved-beam periodic structure

Abstract Curved-beams can be used to design modular multistable metamaterials (MMMs) with reprogrammable material properties, i.e., programmable curved-beam periodic structure (PCBPS), which is promising for controlling the elastic wave propagation. The PCBPS is theoretically equivalent to a spring-oscillator system to investigate the mechanism of bandgap, analyze the wave propagation mechanisms, and further form its geometrical and physical criteria for tuning the elastic wave propagation. With the equivalent model, we calculate the analytical solutions of the dispersion relations to demonstrate its adjustability, and investigate the wave propagation characteristics through the PCBPS. To validate the equivalent system, the finite element method (FEM) is employed. It is revealed that the bandgaps of the PCBPS can be turned on-and-off and shifted by varying its physical and geometrical characteristics. The findings are highly promising for advancing the practical application of periodic structures in wave insulation and propagation control.