Simulation of Acoustic Wave Propagation in 3-D Sonic Crystals based on Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces

Sonic crystals have been investigated in recent years both as a potential form of noise barrier, and as a form of sonic art aimed at enhancing perception of the soundscape. The broader aim of this research is concerned with the auralisation of these structures in the context of the space for which they are intended, which is hoped will enable a useful subjective analysis of a structure prior to its construction. In a previous publication [1], prediction of the acoustic propagation through doubly periodic arrays of solid, cylindrical scatterers embedded in air was performed in 3-D Finite Difference Time Domain simulations. In this study, using the same simulation technique, we investigate the scattering effects of a type of triply periodic structure observed in nature known as a gyroid. It is thought that this type of structure could lend itself well to applications in noise control, first and foremost because they may exhibit more extreme filtering effects than the 2-D sonic crystals we observed previously, but also because - visually and conceptually - we believe them to be far more interesting.