Periodic elastic composite structures attract great attention. They offer the ability to design artificial properties to advance the control over the propagation of elastic/acoustic waves. In previous work, we drew attention to composite periodic structures comprising liquids. It was shown that the transmission spectrum of the structure, specifically a well-isolated peak, follows the material properties of liquid constituent in a distinct manner. This idea was realized in several liquid sensor concepts that launched the field of phononic crystal liquid sensors. In this work we introduce a novel concept—narrow band solid-liquid composite arrangements. We demonstrate two different concepts to design narrow band structures, and show the results of theoretical studies and results of experimental investigations that confirm the theoretical predictions. This work extends prior studies in the field of phononic crystal liquid sensors with novel concepts and results that have a high potential in a field of volumetric liquid properties evaluation.

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We show new approaches to developing acoustic liquid sensors based on phononic crystals. The proposed phononic crystal integrates fluidic elements. A solid block with periodic cylindrical holes contains a defect—a liquid-filled cylindrical cavity. We pay attention to acoustic excitation and the readout of the axisymmetric cylindrical resonator eigenmode of the liquid-filled defect in the middle of the phononic crystal structure. This mode solves the challenge of mechanical energy losses due to liquid viscosity. We also analyze the coupling effects between oscillations of liquid and solid systems and consider coupling issues between piezoelectric transducers and the liquid-filled cavity resonator. The numerical simulation of the propagation of acoustic waves through the phononic crystal sensor was carried out in COMSOL Multiphysics Software. The phononic crystal was made of stainless steel with mechanically drilled holes and was fabricated for experimental verification. We show that a tuning of the solid–liquid vibrational modes coupling is the key to an enhanced level of sensitivity to liquid properties. Besides (homogeneous) water–propanol mixtures, experimental studies were carried out on (disperse) water–fuel emulsions.

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Introduction. In-line analysis of ethanol content in gasoline blends is currently one of the urgent needs of fuel industry. Developing safe and secure approaches is critical for real applications. A phononic crystal sensor have been introduced as an innovative approach to high performance gasoline sensing. Distinguishing feature of proposed sensor is the absence of any electrical contact with analysed gasoline blend, which allows the use of sensors directly in pipelines without the risk of explosion in an emergency.Aim. Investigation of the possibilities of using phononic sensor structures to determine the ethanol content in liquid hydrocarbons.Materials and methods. A theoretical analysis of sensor structure was carried out on the basis of numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics software. For measurement, substances of ordinary gasoline and gasoline 63–80 with ethanol concentrations in the range of 1–10 % by volume in increments of 2 % were prepared. The phononic crystal sensor was designed as a stainless steel plate with cylindrical holes and a resonant cavity, formed as a running across the wave propagation path slit between two lattices.Results. In-line analysis of measuring the concentration of ethanol in alcohol-containing fuels on a phononic crystal structure with a resonant cavity was carried out. Using the Agilent4395A admittance meter, the transmission spectra of longitudinal acoustic waves through the gasoline-filled sensor structure with were obtained. The non-linear correlation between the composition and the speed of sound of the blend is presented in the article is due to the ability to reduce the speed of sound of the mixture with an increase in ethanol concentration in the range of 0–10 % by volume.Conclusion. A measurement structure on the basis of phononic crystal was created. The measurements of various gasoline-ethanol mixtures show that the sensor has significant sensitivity (0.91 kHz/ms−1 ) with quality factor of 200) to distinguish between regular fuels, gasoline based blends and the presence of additives in standard fuels. The sensor has prospects for in-line analyzes the composition of liquid hydrocarbons.