Broadband asymmetric acoustic transmission through an acoustic prism

Narrow bandwidth and complex structure are the main shortcomings of the existing asymmetric acoustic transmission devices. In this letter, a simple broadband asymmetric acoustic transmission device is proposed by using an acoustic prism filled with xenon gas. The sound pressure field distributions, the transmission spectra, and the prism angle effect are numerically investigated by using finite element method. The proposed device can always realize asymmetric acoustic transmission for the wave frequency larger than 480 Hz because the wave paths are not influenced by the wave frequencies. The asymmetric acoustic transmission is attributed to normal refraction and total reflection occur at different interfaces. Besides, relatively high transmission efficiency is realized due to the similar impedance between the acoustic prism and background. And the transmitted wave direction can be controlled freely by changing the prism angle. Our design provides a simple method to obtain broadband asymmetric acoustic transmission device and has potentials in many applications, such as noise control and medical ultrasound. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.