The introduction of the concept of valley pseudospin to phononic crystals has made a remarkable topologically protected interface transport of sound, which opens a novel research area referred to as valley Hall topological insulators. Here, we demonstrate the simultaneous multi-band edge states of shear vertical waves in two-dimensional phononic crystals with veins. The multi-band edge states are topologically valley-protected and are obtained by simultaneously gapping multiple Dirac points at K (or K′) under the inversion symmetry breaking. As the relative radius of the two adjacent steel columns varies, the band diagram undergoes a topological transition which can be characterized by topological charge distributions and opposite valley Chern numbers. Subsequently, the vortex chirality of the bulk valley modes is unveiled. With numerical simulations, simultaneous multi-band valley dependent edge states and the associated valley-protected backscattering suppression around the curved waveguide are further demonstrated. Our work could become a promising platform for applications of multi-functional topological acoustic devices.

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The study for exotic topological effects of sound has attracted uprising interests in fundamental physics and practical applications. Based on the concept of valley pseudospin, we demonstrate the topological valley transport of plate-mode waves in a homogenous thin plate with periodic stubbed surface, where a deterministic two-fold Dirac degeneracy is form by two plate modes. We show that the topological property can be controlled by the height of stubs deposited on the plate. By adjusting the relative heights of adjacent stubs, the valley vortex chirality and band inversion are induced, giving rise to a phononic analog of valley Hall phase transition. We further numerically demonstrate the valley states of plate-mode waves with robust topological protection. Our results provide a new route to design unconventional elastic topological insulators and will significantly broaden its practical application in the engineering field.

In this paper, we present the numerical investigation of Lamb wave propagation in a homogenous plate with periodic tapered surface, which gradually increases the width from the lower base to the upper base. The dispersion relations, the power transmission spectra, and the displacement fields of the eigenmodes are studied by using the finite-element method. We investigate the effects of the geometrical parameters (including the ratio of the lower base width to the upper base width, and the ratio of the upper base width, the thickness of the tapered surface, and the thickness of the homogenous plate, respectively, to the lower base width) on the band gaps. Numerical results show that the band gaps can be effectively shifted by changing the geometrical parameters. Especially, the width of the first band gap changes approximately linearly by changing the ratio of the upper base width to the lower base width and in return. The transmission bands of the structure with the tapered surface are more flat than those of the structure with the stubbed surface. Moreover, the proposed homogenous plate with periodic tapered surface exhibits lower and smaller band gap than that of the homogenous plate with periodic stubbed surface due to weak localized resonance of the tapered surface with the upper base wider than the lower base. These properties of elastic or acoustic waves can potentially be utilized to tune band gaps, slow the group velocity, generate filters, and design acoustic sensors.