MDS-APP-UAF · The Mosaic Design Strategy: Application to Underwater Acoustic Functionalities

The Mosaic Design Strategy: Application to Underwater Acoustic Functionalities

Acoustic and elastic wave manipulation plays a central role in a wide range of scientific and engineering applications, including underwater sensing, noise mitigation, and vibration control. However, effective control of low-frequency waves remains particularly challenging due to their long wavelengths and strong fluid–structure interactions, which often result in bulky structures, limited bandwidth, and reduced practicality. Conventional metamaterial approaches typically rely on strongly resonant or geometrically complex architectures, whose performance can be sensitive to fabrication tolerances and difficult to scale. In this project, a mosaic design strategy is adopted in which the global wave response is primarily governed by the intrinsic dynamic properties of individual unit cells rather than by complex spatial patterning. By carefully engineering the mechanical and acoustic characteristics of each unit, desired macroscopic behaviors emerge naturally when these units are assembled into periodic structures. This approach allows wave control to be achieved through unit-level design, while maintaining structural simplicity and robustness at the system level. Building on this concept, the project aims to establish a unified framework for low-frequency acoustic and elastic wave control that is applicable across multiple physical platforms. Rather than treating different applications independently, the project identifies common underlying mechanisms by which unit-cell properties shape global wave behavior. This framework is then applied to four interconnected research directions: mosaic-type underwater acoustic impedance tubes for low-frequency material characterization, lightweight airborne sound insulation enabled by tailored unit responses, ultrathin underwater absorbers based on soft-boundary unit designs, and tunable elastic metamaterials that allow flexible manipulation of wave propagation. Through this unified perspective, the project seeks to provide scalable and physically intuitive solutions for low-frequency wave control, contributing to advances in underwater acoustics, noise mitigation, and adaptive wave-based systems.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз