On the Failure of Classic Elasticity in Predicting Elastic Wave Propagation in Gyroid Lattices for Very Long Wavelengths

Abstract

In this work we investigate the properties of elastic waves propagating in gyroid lattices. First, we rigorously characterize the lattice from the point of view of crystallography. Second, we use Bloch–Floquet analysis to compute the dispersion relations for elastic waves. The results for very long wavelengths are then compared to those given by classic elasticity for a cubic material. A discrepancy is found in terms of the polarization of waves and it is related to the noncentrosymmetry of the gyroid. The gyroid lattice results to be acoustically active, meaning that transverse waves exhibit a circular polarization when they propagate along an axis of rotational symmetry. This phenomenon is present even for very long wavelengths and is not captured by classic elasticity.