Tunable elastic metasurface based on adjustable impedances for Gaussian beam manipulation

•A TEM composed of IASs is proposed for Gaussian flexural beam manipulation.•The complex reflection coefficients of the IAS are derived from interface impedances.•An analytical model is established for a TEM subjected to a Gaussian beam incidence.•The difference between the impedances of flexural and acoustic waves is clarified. Different from the common tunable elastic metasurface (TEM), like piezoelectric active metasurface, in this paper, we propose a TEM composed of impedance-adjustable subunits (IASs) to realize tunable manipulations of flexural waves. Based on the impedance theory, the adjustable mechanism of the phase shift of the IAS is clarified according to the derivations for the relationship between the force/moment interface impedances and complex reflection coefficients. The boundary effect is considered, and the difference between the impedances of the flexural and acoustic waves is demonstrated for the subunits with free and clamped boundary conditions. By using the diffraction theory and coupled-mode theory, an analytical model is established for the metasurface subjected to a Gaussian flexural beam incidence, based on which, the total wavefield consisting of all propagating diffraction orders is solved. Its accuracy and the modulation function adjustability of the TEM are demonstrated by the finite element (FE) simulations and experiments. The proposed IAS possesses a flexible and reliable layout for TEM design and has potential engineering applications in vibration control, health monitoring, etc. [Display omitted]