Constant-pressure sound waves in non-Hermitian disordered media

When waves impinge on a disordered material they are back-scattered and form a highly complex interference pattern. Suppressing any such distortions in the free propagation of a wave is a challenging task with many applications in a number of different disciplines. In a recent theoretical proposal, it was pointed out that both perfect transmission through disorder as well as a complete suppression of any variation in a wave intensity can be achieved by adding a continuous gain-loss distribution to the disorder. Here we show that this abstract concept can be implemented in a realistic acoustic system. Our prototype consists of an acoustic waveguide containing several inclusions that scatter the incoming wave in a passive configuration and provide the gain or loss when being actively controlled. Our measurements on this non-Hermitian acoustic metamaterial demonstrate unambiguously the creation of a reflectionless scattering wave state that features a unique form of discrete constant-amplitude pressure waves. In addition to demonstrating that gain-loss additions can turn localised systems into transparent ones, we expect our proof-of-principle demonstration to trigger interesting new developments not only in sound engineering, but also in other related fields such as in non-Hermitian photonics

MAXIMIZATION OF PULL-IN VOLTAGE OF MICRO-ELECTROMECHANICAL STRUCTURES USING TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION

The design problem consists in maximizing the pull-in voltage using topology optimization method, which is formulated as an optimal material distribution. In addition to the classical volume constraint, different structural constraints could be taken into consideration. Sensitivity analysis is one of the key issues of the optimization process and is performed with the formulation of eigenvalue topology optimization problems. Here the paper investigates topology optimization of strongly coupled electromechanical systems. To avoid important modifications of the electric field by the optimization process, this first study considers a non design electrode and use topology optimization to design an optimal suspension structure. Solution procedure of the optimization problem is based on CONLIN optimizer using a sequential convex programming. This method that has proved its efficiency in many structural problems (sizing, shape) is here tailored to strongly coupled multiphysics design problems under consideration. The choice of appropriate explicit convex approximations schemes for multiphysic problems is investigated. The proposed method is illustrated and validated on microbeam optimization applications

Peroxide grafted PDMS: hydrosilylation reaction study and thiol-ene chemistry as an alternative pathway

International audiencePeroxide containing PDMS were synthesized according to a new pathway. Although hydrosilylation is one of the main reaction carried out in silicone chemistry, the catalysts used are very sensitive to the chemical nature of the reactants and remained inefficient to graft allylic peroxide. Radical catalyzed thiol-ene chemistry was involved for the first time to yield an initiator group containing polymer. Peroxide grafted polysiloxane structure and decomposition were characterized using 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR, FT-IR and RAMAN spectroscopies, SEC and DSC. These macroinitiators can be used to obtain polysiloxane able to undergo cross-linking

Développement et validation d'une métasurface acoustique orientable large bande composée de résonateurs électroacoustiques actifs

Nous proposons un concept de métasurface acoustique orientables en réflexion, effective sur une large bande de fréquences, à l’aide de cellules actives. La métasurface est composée d’un réseau de haut-parleurs petits devant la longueur d’onde, dont l’impédance acoustique peut être programmée par contrôle actif afin d’ajuster la phase du coefficient de réflexion en tout point de la métasurface. La stratégie de contrôle s’inspire des Résonateurs Electroacoustiques Actifs, utilisant un asservissement en courant du transducteur basé sur une captation microphonique devant sa membrane, permettant d’obtenir une large gamme d’impédances acoustiques sur un même haut-parleur. Ce papier présente la méthodologie de dimensionnement des Résonateurs Electroacoustiques permettant d’obtenir un angle de réflexion prédéfini pour une incidence donnée, et des validations numériques et expérimentales permettent de vérifier les performances du concept. L’aspect large-bande du contrôle sera en particulier discuté

Toward Wideband Steerable Acoustic Metasurfaces with Arrays of Active Electroacoustic Resonators

We introduce an active concept for achieving acoustic metasurfaces with steerable reflection properties, effective over a wide frequency band. The proposed active acoustic metasurface consists in a surface array of subwavelength loudspeakers diaphragms, each with programmable individual active acoustic impedances allowing for local control over the different reflection phases over the metasurface. The active control framework used for controlling the reflection phase over the metasurface is derived from the Active Electroacoustic Resonator concept. Each unit-cell simply consists of a current-driven electrodynamic loudspeaker in a closed box, whose acoustic impedance at the diaphragm is judiciously adjusted by connecting an active electrical control circuit. The control is known to achieve a wide variety of acoustic impedances on a single loudspeaker diaphragm used as an acoustic resonator, with the possibility to shift its resonance frequency by more than one octave. The paper presents a methodology for designing such active metasurface elements. An experimental validation of the achieved individual reflection coefficients is presented, and full wave simulations present a few examples of achievable reflection properties, with a focus on the bandwidth of operation of the proposed control concept

Brilliant glyconanocapsules for trapping of bacteria

Nanoprecipitation of miglyol into droplets surrounded by a functional glycopolymer generates nanocapsules of biointerest. Fluorophores are trapped in situ or post-grafted onto the crosslinked polymer shell for efficient imaging. The resulting colloids induce aggregation of bacteria through strong specific interactions and promote their facile removal