Single phase 3D phononic band gap material

Phononic band gap materials are capable of prohibiting the propagation of mechanical waves in certain frequency ranges. Band gaps are produced by combining different phases with different properties within one material. In this paper, we present a novel cellular material consisting of only one phase with a phononic band gap. Different phases are modelled by lattice structure design based on eigenmode analysis. Test samples are built from a titanium alloy using selective electron beam melting. For the first time, the predicted phononic band gaps via FEM simulation are experimentally verified. In addition, it is shown how the position and extension of the band gaps can be tuned by utilizing knowledge-based design.