Spatial bandwidth enlargement and field enhancement of shear horizontal waves in finite graded piezoelectric layered media

Shear horizontal (SH) wave propagation in finite graded piezoelectric layered media is investigated by transfer matrix method. Different from the previous studies on SH wave propagation in completely periodic layered media, calculations on band structure and transmission in this paper show that the graded layered media possess very large band gaps. Harmonic wave simulation by finite element method (FEM) confirms that the reason of bandwidth enlargement is that waves within the band gap ranges are spatially enhanced and stopped by the corresponding graded units. The study suggests that the graded structure possesses the property of manipulating elastic waves spatially, which shows potential applications in strengthening energy trapping and harvesting. - Highlights: • Shear horizontal wave propagation in finite graded piezoelectric layered media is investigated by transfer matrix method. • Calculations on band structure and transmission show that the graded layered media possess very large band gaps. • Finite element method confirms that waves in band gaps are spatially enhanced and stopped by the graded units. • The study suggests that the graded structure possesses the property of manipulating elastic waves spatially