Long-range order Bragg scattering and its effect on the dynamic response of a Penrose-like phononic crystal plate

In this article, we present scattering and localization phenomena in a thin elastic plate comprising an aperiodic arrangement of scatterers. By analyzing the form factor of the scattering cluster, we sample the reciprocal space which shows strong scattering points in reciprocal space associated with nontrivial dynamic response. Specifically, we identify attenuating frequency regimes and bands where strong localization is predicted and experimentally observed. We show that both localization and attenuation are Bragg scattering phenomena, induced by the long-range aperiodic patterns. Illustrative comparisons are drawn with a periodic counterpart having the same density of scatterers. The novel findings are corroborated by analytical estimates, numerical finite-element predictions, and vibrometric experiments. The results are relevant for the research community interested in extending phononic crystal phenomena to lower frequencies.