Design of tunable acoustic metamaterials using 3D computer graphics

Abstract

The goal of this work is to investigate how the combination of 3D computer graphics and finite element software can be used to rapidly design materials with tunable properties for noise and vibration mitigation applications. Algorithms and software that create three-dimensional objects, known collectively as 3D computer graphics, are widely used artistically for rendering, animation, and game creation. These approaches allow for the design of complex topological structures such as cellular solids. This presentation describes the use of 3D computer graphics to design cellular structures, which can be imported into finite element software in order to determine effective vibrational properties. This approach is advantageous for several reasons. It allows for quick variation of parameters of cellular solids such as porosity and void fraction. It also is time efficient compared to alternative methods such as performing computed tomography scans on physical samples and analyzing the imaged files. Furthermore, resulting designs can be easily fabricated by direct 3D printing. This presentation will include analysis and discussion of designs generated by the proposed approach.