Coupled Acoustic-Mechanical Bandgaps

In this work, we study the existence of coupled bandgaps for corrugated plate structures and acoustic channels. The study is motivated by the observation that the performance of traditional bandgap structures, such as periodic plates, may be compromised due to the coupling to a surrounding acoustic medium and the presence of acoustic resonances. It is demonstrated that corrugation of the plate structure can introduce bending wave bandgaps and bandgaps in the acoustic domain in overlapping and audible frequency ranges. This effect is preserved also when taking the physical coupling between the two domains into account. Additionally, the coupling is shown to introduce extra gaps in the band structure due to modal interaction and the appearance of a cut-on frequency for the fundamental acoustic mode.