Harnessing fluid-structure interactions for the design of tunable metamaterials
Filippo Casadei (Harvard university), Katia Bertoldi (Harvard University)
Mechanics and Dynamics of Periodic Structures
Wed 10:45 - 12:15
Salomon 101
The ultimate goal of this research is to exploit the interaction between periodic structures and a surrounding fluid for the design of tunable locally-resonant metamaterials. Specifically, periodic arrays of airfoil-type resonators are used to control the dispersion relations of a primary (host) structure through the generation of bandgaps: frequency ranges of strong wave attenuation. Bandgaps occur at frequencies dictated by the resonance frequencies of the periodic units and can be tuned by changing the speed of the surrounding fluid. Numerical results based on the finite element discretization of the unit cell and unsteady aerodynamic models illustrate how the dispersion relations of the periodic fluid-coupled system change for different airspeed conditions. Experimental tests conduced on assemblies of finite size are used to illustrate the concept and validate the numerical predictions.