A Perturbation Approach for Predicting Wave Propagation in One-Dimensional Nonlinear Periodic Structures

Wave propagation in one-dimensional nonlinear periodic structures is investigated through a novel perturbation analysis and accompanying numerical simulations. Several chain unit cells are considered featuring a sequence of masses connected by linear and cubic springs. Approximate closed-form, first-order dispersion relations capture the effect of nonlinearities on harmonic wave propagation. These relationships document amplitude-dependent behavior to include tunable dispersion curves and cutoff frequencies, which shift with wave amplitude. Numerical simulations verify the dispersion relations obtained from the perturbation analysis. The simulation of an infinite domain is accomplished by employing viscous-based perfectly matched layers appended to the chain ends. Numerically estimated wavenumbers show good agreement with the perturbation predictions. Several example chain unit cells demonstrate the manner in which nonlinearities in periodic systems may be exploited to achieve amplitude-dependent dispersion properties for the design of tunable acoustic devices.