AUTHOR=Rossi Marco , Veber Daniele , Gei Massimiliano TITLE=Numerical Assessment of the Performance of Elastic Cloaks for Transient Flexural Waves JOURNAL=Frontiers in Materials VOLUME=7 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2020.603667 DOI=10.3389/fmats.2020.603667 ISSN=2296-8016 ABSTRACT=

A relevant application of transformation elastodynamics has shown that flexural waves in a Kirchhoff-Love plate can be diverted and channeled to cloak a region of the ambient space. To achieve the goal, an orthotropic meta-structural plate should be employed. However, the corresponding mathematical transformation leads to the presence of an unwanted strong compressive prestress, likely beyond the buckling threshold of the structure, with a set of in-plane body forces to warrant equilibrium. In addition, the plate must possess, at the same time, high bending stiffnesses, but a null twisting rigidity. With the aim of estimating the performance of cloaks modelled with approximate parameters, an in-house finite element code, based on a subparametric technique, is implemented to deal with the cloaking of transient waves in orthotropic thin plates. The tool allows us to explore the sensitivity of specific stiffness parameters that may be difficult to match in a real cloak design. In addition, the finite element code is extended to investigate a meta-plate interacting with a Winkler foundation, to confirm how the subgrade modulus should transform in the cloak region.