Wave propagation in cross-linked random fiber networks

Abstract

We numerically investigate the propagation of small-amplitude elastic waves in random fiber networks. Our analysis reveals that the dynamic response of the system is not only controlled by its overall elasticity, but also by the local microstructure. In fact, we find that the longest fiber-segment plays a key role in dynamics when the network is excited with waves of short wavelength. In this case, the Bloch modes are highly non-affine as the longest segments oscillate close to their resonances. Based on this observation, we predict the low frequency dispersion curves of random fiber networks.