Locally resonant sonic materials

We have fabricated a new type of composite which displays localized sonic resonances at similar to350-2000 Hz with a microstructure size in the millimeter to centimeter range. Around the resonance frequencies the composite behaves as a material with effective negative elastic constants and as a total wave reflector-a 2 cm slab of this material is shown to break the conventional mass-law of sound transmission by order(s) of magnitude. When the microstructure is periodic, our composites exhibit large elastic wave band gaps at the sonic frequency range, with a lattice constant order(s) of magnitude smaller than the corresponding sonic wavelength in air. Good agreement is obtained between theory and experiment. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.