A PDMS-based broadband acoustic impedance matched material for underwater applications

TL;DR

This paper presents a PDMS-based composite material with impedance matching to water, achieved by dispersing subwavelength particles, enabling wideband underwater acoustic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel composite material with impedance matching to water using PDMS and TiO2 particles, validated by models and experiments.

Findings

Impedance matched to water over 0.5-6 MHz

Zero reflection coefficient achieved

Easy to mold and handle

Abstract

Having a material that is matched in acoustic impedance with the surrounding medium is a considerable asset for many underwater acoustic applications. In this work, impedance matching is achieved by dispersing small, deeply subwavelength sized particles in a soft matrix, and the appropriate concentration is determined with the help of Coherent Potential Approximation and Waterman & Truell models. We show experimentally the validity of the models using mixtures of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and TiO2 particles. The optimized composite material has the same longitudinal acoustic impedance as water and therefore the acoustic reflection coefficient is essentially zero over a wide range of frequencies (0.5 to 6 MHz). PDMS-based materials can be cured in a mold to achieve desired sample shape, which makes them very easy to handle and to use. Various applications can be envisioned, such the use of impedance-matched PDMS in the design and fabrication of acoustically transparent cells for samples, perfectly matched layers for ultrasonic experiments, or superabsorbing metamaterials for water-borne acoustic waves.