Steven F. Nagle
Akhlesh Lakhtakia
227 Hammond Bldg., Dept. of Eng. Sci. and Mechan., Penn State Univ., University Park, PA 16802
The material properties of a piezoelectric continuously twisted structurally chiral medium (PCTSCM) vary helicoidally along the axial direction. Monochromatic axial wave propagation in a PCTSCM has been solved exactly [A. Lakhtakia, Appl. Acoust. (in press)]. It is shown that specific axial propagation modes are related to specific piezoelectric coupling coefficients. By a judicious choice of these coefficients, one may control certain sets of modes independently of other sets of modes. Since the degree of piezoelectric coupling can be engineered, PCTSCMs are promising candidates for future transduction devices. Emphasis has been placed on PCTSCMs with hexagonal symmetries. Graphical support of the conclusions will be presented. [Work supported by NSF.]