Band gap formation in thin plates with a periodic array of resonators

A resonator assembly consisting of a two-dimensional periodic array (mass-screws) mounted to a thin homogenous plate was used to investigate the vibration characteristics of locally resonant (LR) phononic plates. The numeric simulations employed the finite element method to calculate the band structures of the proposed periodic plates and to analyze the effect of geometry parameters on the evolution of the flexural band gap behavior. To experimentally validate the predictions for these theoretical examinations, two measurements with the LR phononic plates were obtained with respective lattice constants a = 40 and 50 mm. The tested plate was clamped on one side to a shaking table to generate a plane wave, propagating in the Ox-direction. Obtained experimental measurements of the wave attenuation in this direction are in good agreement with the theoretical frequency of both complete and directional band gaps.