Acoustic metamaterials

This paper presents the initial results in a new multidisciplinary field of application of metamaterials in the acoustic and mechanical systems. The knowledge of electromagnetic metamaterials and analogies between mechanical and electrical quantities are used, as well as the laws of propagation of mechanical waves in metamaterials. This area has great potential, both for scientific research, as well as for specific application (e.g. suppression of vibrations that are transmitted across beams, acoustic cloacking...). This work is restricted and deals with only one type of mechanical wave, i.e. only the longitudinal mechanical waves in the air, called the acoustic waves (sound). As an illustration, this paper presents the design and simulation results of acoustic double-negative metamaterials, the software package COMSOL Multiphysics ver. 4.0