# US 12,110,376 B2 · Soft matter having an Anderson transition to a localized phase

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- Number: US 12,110,376 B2
- Document ID: US12110376B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/583,697
- Filed: 2022-01-25
- Published: 2022-08-11
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2021-01-25
- Assignees: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
- Applicants: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
- Inventors: Bernard R. Matis; Nicholas T. Gangemi; Jeffrey W. Baldwin; Steven W. Liskey; Aaron D. Edmunds; William B. Wilson; Douglas M. Photiadis
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12110376B2

## CPC

- C08J 9/236: using binding agents
- C08J 9/32: from compositions containing microballoons, e.g. syntactic foams
- C08J 3/075: Macromolecular gels
- C08J 9/365: {Coating}
- C08J 2203/22: Expandable microspheres, e.g. Expancel®
- C08J 2205/02: the finished foam itself being a gel or a gel being temporarily formed when processing the foamable composition
- C08J 2300/26: Elastomers
- C08J 2475/04: Polyurethanes
- G01N 29/032: by measuring attenuation of acoustic waves
- G01N 29/036: by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves
- G01N 2291/02433: Gases in liquids, e.g. bubbles, foams
- C08J: WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H (working, e.g. shaping, of plastics B29)
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)

## Abstract

An article having: an elastomeric jacket; a gel within the jacket; and a plurality of gas-filled, polymerically-encapsulated microbubbles suspended in the gel. The microbubbles have a Gaussian particle size distribution. The largest microbubble has a diameter at least 10 times the diameter of the smallest microbubble. The article may exhibit Anderson localization at at least one frequency of sound waves impacting the article.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An article comprising:
an elastomeric jacket;
a gel within the jacket; and
a plurality of gas-filled, polymerically-encapsulated microbubbles suspended in the gel;
wherein the microbubbles have a Gaussian particle size distribution; and
wherein the largest microbubble has a diameter at least 10 times the diameter of the smallest microbubble.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the article exhibits Anderson localization at at least one frequency of sound waves impacting the article.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1;
wherein the jacket has a jacket bulk modulus and a jacket shear modulus; and
wherein the jacket bulk modulus is at least 100 times the jacket shear modulus.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1;
wherein the gel has a gel bulk modulus and a gel shear modulus; and
wherein the gel bulk modulus is at least 100 times the gel shear modulus.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the jacket and the gel each have acoustic impedances of 1.3×106-1.7×106 kg sec−1 m−2 in a range of 0.05-0.8 MHz.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the jacket has a thickness that prevents deformation of the jacket by the gel.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the jacket has a thickness that prevents deformation of the jacket when submerged in water up to a depth of 100 m.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The article of claim 6, wherein the thickness is 2-6 mm.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the gel has a smallest dimension of at least 10 mm.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the article has a volume fraction of the microbubbles of 0.2%-15%.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the microbubbles have an average diameter of 60-95 μm.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The article of claim 1, wherein the Gaussian distribution has a full width at half maximum of 60-80 microns.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

A method comprising:
submerging the article of claim 1 in water; and
directing or allowing the direction of sound waves having a frequency toward the article.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the article exhibits Anderson localization at the frequency.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein a portion of the microbubbles exhibit monopole scattering at the frequency.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13;
wherein the jacket has a jacket longitudinal wave speed at the frequency and a jacket transverse wave speed at the frequency; and
wherein the jacket longitudinal wave speed is at least ten times the jacket transverse wave speed.

### Claim 17 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13;
wherein the gel has a gel longitudinal wave speed at the frequency and a gel transverse wave speed at the frequency; and
wherein the gel longitudinal wave speed is at least ten times the gel transverse wave speed.

### Claim 18 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the jacket has a jacket tan(δ) at the frequency less than 0.5.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, wherein the gel has a gel tan(δ) at the frequency less than or equal to the jacket tan(δ).

### Claim 20 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13;
wherein the gel has a localization length at the frequency; and
wherein the gel has a thickness parallel to the sound waves that is at least three times the localization length.

### Claim 21 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the gel has a width perpendicular to the sound waves that is at least 10 times the localization length.