Sound pressure level gain in an acoustic metamaterial cavity

Acoustic transmission loss in Hilbert fractal metamaterials

Acoustic metamaterials are increasingly being considered as a viable technology for sound insulation. Fractal patterns constitute a potentially groundbreaking architecture for acoustic metamaterials. We describe in this work the behaviour of the transmission loss of Hilbert fractal metamaterials used for sound control purposes. The transmission loss of 3D printed metamaterials with Hilbert fractal patterns related to configurations from the zeroth to the fourth order is investigated here using impedance tube tests and Finite Element models. We evaluate, in particular, the impact of the equivalent porosity and the relative size of the cavity of the fractal pattern versus the overall dimensions of the metamaterial unit. We also provide an analytical formulation that relates the acoustic cavity resonances in the fractal patterns and the frequencies associated with the maxima of the transmission losses, providing opportunities to tune the sound insulation properties through control of the fractal architecture.

Nonlinear acoustic metamaterial for efficient frequency down-conversion

Frequency conversion is one of the most important nonlinear wave phenomena that has been widely used in the field of electromagnetic waves for changing signal frequencies. Recently, studies on frequency conversion have been actively performed in the field of acoustics owing to its importance in nonlinear ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation and directional speakers. However, acoustic frequency conversion presents relatively poor efficiency owing to the small amplitudes of the converted frequencies and undesired intermodulation. Herein, we propose an acoustic metamaterial to achieve an efficient frequency down-conversion of acoustic waves. Based on background theory, we discovered that the amplitudes of the converted frequencies are inversely proportional to the cube of the speed of sound. Accordingly, we amplify the converted frequency components by reducing the effective speed of sound by coiling up space while suppressing undesired intermodulation by the Bragg gap. Numerical simulation and analytical results show that efficient frequency down-conversion is possible using the corresponding metamaterial. Additionally, dissipation due to viscosity and boundary layer effects is considered. We expect our study results to facilitate research regarding acoustic frequency conversion.

Biomimetic and flexible piezoelectric mobile acoustic sensors with multiresonant ultrathin structures for machine learning biometrics

Flexible resonant acoustic sensors have attracted substantial attention as an essential component for intuitive human-machine interaction (HMI) in the future voice user interface (VUI). Several researches have been reported by mimicking the basilar membrane but still have dimensional drawback due to limitation of controlling a multifrequency band and broadening resonant spectrum for full-cover phonetic frequencies. Here, highly sensitive piezoelectric mobile acoustic sensor (PMAS) is demonstrated by exploiting an ultrathin membrane for biomimetic frequency band control. Simulation results prove that resonant bandwidth of a piezoelectric film can be broadened by adopting a lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) membrane on the ultrathin polymer to cover the entire voice spectrum. Machine learning-based biometric authentication is demonstrated by the integrated acoustic sensor module with an algorithm processor and customized Android app. Last, exceptional error rate reduction in speaker identification is achieved by a PMAS module with a small amount of training data, compared to a conventional microelectromechanical system microphone.

Engineering three-dimensional labyrinthine fractal acoustic metamaterials with low-frequency multi-band sound suppression

Acoustic metamaterials are a class of artificially periodic structures with extraordinary elastic properties that cannot be easily found in naturally occurring materials and can be applied to regulate the sound propagation behavior. The fractal configuration can be widely found in the acoustic system, like characterizing the broadband or multi-band sound propagation. This work will engineer three-dimensional (3D) labyrinthine fractal acoustic metamaterials (LFAMs) to regulate the sound propagation on subwavelength scales. The dispersion relations of LFAMs are systematically analyzed by the Bloch theory and the finite element method (FEM). The multi-bands, acoustic modes, and isotropic properties characterize their acoustic wave properties in the low-frequency regime. The effective bulk modulus and mass density of the LFAMs are numerically calculated to explain the low-frequency bandgap behaviors in specific frequencies. The transmissions and pressure field distributions of 3D LFAMs have been used to measure the ability for sound suppression. Furthermore, when considering the thermo-viscous loss on the transmission properties, the high absorptions occur within the multi-band range for low-frequency sound. Hence, this research contributes to potential applications on 3D LFAMs for multi-bands blocking and/or absorption on deep-subwavelength scales.

Directional Reflective Surface Formed via Gradient-Impeding Acoustic Meta-Surfaces

Artificially designed acoustic meta-surfaces have the ability to manipulate sound energy to an extraordinary extent. Here, we report on a new type of directional reflective surface consisting of an array of sub-wavelength Helmholtz resonators with varying internal coiled path lengths, which induce a reflection phase gradient along a planar acoustic meta-surface. The acoustically reshaped reflective surface created by the gradient-impeding meta-surface yields a distinct focal line similar to a parabolic cylinder antenna, and is used for directive sound beamforming. Focused beam steering can be also obtained by repositioning the source (or receiver) off axis, i.e., displaced from the focal line. Besides flat reflective surfaces, complex surfaces such as convex or conformal shapes may be used for sound beamforming, thus facilitating easy application in sound reinforcement systems. Therefore, directional reflective surfaces have promising applications in fields such as acoustic imaging, sonic weaponry, and underwater communication.

Implementation of dispersion-free slow acoustic wave propagation and phase engineering with helical-structured metamaterials

The ability to slow down wave propagation in materials has attracted significant research interest. A successful solution will give rise to manageable enhanced wave–matter interaction, freewheeling phase engineering and spatial compression of wave signals. The existing methods are typically associated with constructing dispersive materials or structures with local resonators, thus resulting in unavoidable distortion of waveforms. Here we show that, with helical-structured acoustic metamaterials, it is now possible to implement dispersion-free sound deceleration. The helical-structured metamaterials present a non-dispersive high effective refractive index that is tunable through adjusting the helicity of structures, while the wavefront revolution plays a dominant role in reducing the group velocity. Finally, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that the helical-structured metamaterials with designed inhomogeneous unit cells can turn a normally incident plane wave into a self-accelerating beam on the prescribed parabolic trajectory. The helical-structured metamaterials will have profound impact to applications in explorations of slow wave physics.

There is great interest in slow wave propagation for a variety of applications. Here, Zhu et al. present a dispersion-free helical-structured metamaterial that implements acoustic wave deceleration at broad bandwidth and demonstrates specially designed phase modulation to incident sound through helicity tuning.