Ultrasonic band gaps and negative refraction.

The first experimentally observed ultrasonic band gaps in periodic bidimensional composited are reviewed here. The studied basic structure consists of an aluminum alloy plate with a periodic arrangement of cylindrical holes filled with mercury. Localization phenomena in linear and point defects have been observed and an ultrasonic waveguide capable to bend the ultrasonic radiation by 90 degrees has been achieved. We also revisit twinned-square periodic structures for ultrasonic wave bending and splitting. Such devices allow 45 degrees bending of waves, whereas an extreme anomalous refraction law at the grain boundaries has also been experimentally observed. Finally, a preliminary study about the possibility of "left-handed" behaviour in ultrasonic crystals is presented in this work. The device consists of a slab of the above mentioned metallic composite attached to an epoxy wedge. In this system, clues to negative refraction are theoretically shown.

Ultrasonic wedges for elastic wave bending and splitting without requiring a full band gap.

We present a novel twinned-square periodic structure for ultrasonic wave bending and splitting that does not require the existence of a complete band gap and plays the role of an ultrasonic wedge. The device allows 45 degrees bending of waves and by adequately switching the twinned structure to an ultrasonic crystal 90 degrees bending is achieved. An extreme refraction law at the grain boundaries is experimentally observed.

[Contribution to the early diagnosis of bacteremia: microbial growth detection in liquid culture media by ultrasound]. / Contribución al diagnóstico precoz de bacteriemia: detección del crecimiento microbiano en medios de cultivo líquidos por ultrasonidos.

Nosocomial infection is an important problem because the number of patients daily affected in big hospitals. A big effort exists to develop techniques able to early detect the micro-organisms which cause the infection. The ultrasound is a mechanical radiology technique widely used in Medicine for diagnosis and therapy. It is also well known that this radiation can be used to control relative changes of several physico-chemical parameters in liquids. As an example, the velocity an attenuation of acoustic waves coming through a liquid can be accurately measured. The developed technique consists of an ultrasonic chamber immersed into a thermostatized water bath with two transducers operating in through-transmission. Different culture bottles were placed in between the transducers to live the ultrasound to come across the sample. Several micro-organisms with controlled concentrations, chosen between the most common in sepsis clinical, were used to inoculate each bottle. In the case of aerobic metabolism, the carbon dioxide gas produced by bacteria introduce elastic changes into the liquid which modify both the propagation velocity and the attenuation of the ultrasound. The continuous monitoring of the time-of-flight and the amplitude of an ultrasonic pulse coming through the sample give us a clear indication of the metabolism process. The signatures observed permits the identification of algorithms to early define the positive cases. The developed technique is faster than other commercial systems. The intrinsically non-invasive characteristic of the ultrasound and the relative cheapness of the technique open new attractive possibilities in microbiological diagnosis.

Parametric Bragg resonances in waves on a shallow fluid over a periodically drilled bottom.

Bragg resonances involving strong interactions among Fourier wave components of a periodically drilled bottom and parametrically driven surface waves on a shallow liquid are experimentally shown to break down the secular dispersion relation of surface waves. When the fluid is sufficiently shallow, wave components that match reciprocal wave vectors of the bottom topography are dominant. Experimental evidence of band-gap phenomena in these surface waves are also shown. Moreover, the prevalence of Bragg resonances is so strong that one of them is excited anomalously within the band gap.

Two-dimensional modelling of multifrequency piezocomposites.

The multifrequency composites of 2-2 connectivity modelled in this work are made with groups of piezoelectric elements of different lateral dimensions, periodically reproduced in the structure. These composites have potential to improve the performances of standard piezoelectric composites with the same materials and ceramic fraction, on account that they have different resonators coupled mechanically along the structure. A one-dimensional model was developed to study their performances in a first approximation. In order to obtain a design model, a two-dimensional model, previously used to describe multielement array transducers, has been extended to the case of 2-2 polymer-piezoceramic composites. Several composite samples, having piezoceramic strips with different width-to-thickness ratios, have been built, and their resonance behaviour compared with the model prediction. Finally, the model has been extended to the case of 2-2 multifrequency composites. For multifrequency composites having in the same composite structure two or three piezoceramic strips with different lateral dimensions, the comparison between experimental and predicted results shows good agreement. The model has been used to optimise a double composite in comparison with a standard one with the same volume fraction and constituents.

Modeling (2-2) piezocomposites partially sliced in the polymer phase.

Different attempts have been suggested to improve the efficiency of piezocomposites. Here, a new design which consists of subdicing the passive part of (2-2) composites is presented. A theoretical model based on the series-parallel connections of elastic sections has been developed. It is shown that the cuts increase the electromechanical coupling coefficient. The model shows that, at high ceramic percent, the resonance frequency decreases when cutting the composite. At low ceramic percent the behavior is the opposite. Samples of (2-2) piezocomposites with low, medium, and high ceramic percent have been made, comparing predictions with experimental results. The agreement is satisfactory. With this composite structure, another design parameter is added to the search for better piezocomposite performance.