All-Polarized Elastic Wave Attenuation and Harvesting via Chiral Mechanical Metamaterials

Abstract

Manipulating elastic waves of all polarizations is highly challenging due to the complex behavior of elastic waves. To achieve simultaneous broadband vibration attenuation and energy harvesting across all polarizations of elastic waves at low-frequency ranges, a chiral mechanical metamaterial-based energy harvester is proposed in this study. The systematic development of a complete bandgap and defect structure is achieved through theoretical eigenfrequency analysis and numerical simulations. The defect structure is incorporated to induce defect modes for all wave polarizations within the complete bandgap region, ensuring their compatibility with the overall shape of the structure. The proposed chiral mechanical metamaterial with defect (CMMD) demonstrated significant performance improvements, achieving electrical output power enhancements that are 20.5 times for flexural waves and 511.4 times for longitudinal-torsional waves compared to the defectless chiral mechanical metamaterial. This study accentuates the thoughtful design and multifaceted utility of chiral mechanical metamaterials, paving the way for their application not only in energy harvesting but also in wave attenuation for various polarizations.