EAGER: Power Flow in Elastic Metamaterials: A Structural Intensity Analysis

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This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project will introduce a novel approach that will be used to track and predict the flow of vibrational energy in elastic metamaterials with periodic and aperiodic configurations. Elastic metamaterials are artificially engineered materials designed to have mechanical properties that are not found in nature. By assembling multiple materials of different shapes and sizes in self-repeating patterns, a newly designed structure emerges that reacts uniquely to external disturbances. The ability of elastic metamaterials to block or steer propagating waves within their media enables applications which are not possible with conventional materials in vibration suppression, noise control, and acoustic cloaking. Energy-based design and performance prediction models for elastic metamaterials are currently lacking. This effort will advance the understanding of the mechanics of elastic metamaterials and will enable them to address new engineering challenges, particularly for civil infrastructure systems. This research is multidisciplinary and provides a stimulating environment for participating students to broaden their understanding of concepts pertaining to vibrations, mechanics of materials, and wave propagation. The main objective of this research is to explore the use of concepts from Structural Intensity Analysis (SIA) to estimate power flow in multi-material (composite) dissipative metamaterials with complex geometries. The goal of this EAGER project is to lay the groundwork of using these tools in the context of metamaterials and to compare them with currently adopted wave-based models with the goal of overcoming some of their fundamental limitations. The developed mathematical framework will quantify transmission paths of vibrational energy from excitation locations to energy sinks. The analysis will facilitate the understanding of the underlying physics of band gaps and wave dispersion in metamaterials from an energy perspective. The integration of the developed tools with Bloch-wave models for elastic metamaterials will enable control over critical energy paths with the potential of confining or altering them, thus providing unprecedented opportunities for vibration control, energy harvesting, and structural adaptation, among others.