Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

Recent breakthroughs in condensed matter physics are opening new directions in band engineering and wave manipulation. Specifically, challenging the notions of reciprocity, time-reversal symmetry and sensitivity to defects in wave propagation may disrupt ways in which mechanical and acoustic metamaterials are designed and employed, and may enable totally new functionalities. Non-reciprocity and topologically protected wave propagation will have profound implications on how stimuli and information are transmitted within materials, or how energy can be guided and steered so that its effects may be controlled or mitigated. The seminar will briefly introduce the state-of-the-art in this emerging field, and will present initial investigations on concepts exploiting electro-mechanical coupling and chiral and non-local interactions in mechanical lattices. Shunted piezo-electric patches are exploited to achieve time-modulated mechanical properties which lead to one-directional wave propagation in one-dimensional mechanical waveguides. A framework to realize helical edge states in two identical lattices with interlayer coupling is also presented. The methodology systematically leads to mechanical lattices that exhibit one-way, edge-bound, defect-immune, non-reciprocal wave motion. The presented concepts find potential application in vibration reduction, noise control or stress wave mitigation systems, and as part of surface acoustic wave devices capable of isolator, gyrator and circulator-like functions on compact acoustic platforms.