Bandgap structure in elastic metamaterials with curvy Bezier beams

Abstract

This Letter discusses elastic metamaterials incorporating curved beams in their architecture. Through employing Bezier splines, we reveal a wide versatility of geometrical designs of the unit cells and the consequent programmability of bandgap structures. By analyzing more than ten thousand possible specimens altogether, we highlight the similarity between dynamic properties of metamaterials formed by curves with different geometries defined via three variables only that correspond to the coordinates of control points of the Bezier spline. In particular, we establish the importance of such parameter as effective curve length in defining the probable positions of bandgaps. This study shows, in particular, that the bandgap ratio can reach 71% for metamaterials with proposed curved beams—a noticeable contrast with no bandgaps in their counterpart with straight elements. The employment of the deep learning model enables us to effectively predict passband–stopband structure in such metamaterials with satisfactory accuracy, potentially accelerating the design of metamaterials assembled from versatile unit cells.