IP Library Granted Patent US 11,498,282
Granted Patent B1
US 11,498,282 · App. 16/206,740 · Granted Nov 15, 2022

Computationally optimized and manufactured acoustic metamaterials

Inventors: Timothy F. Walsh (West Lafayette, IN); Nekoda van de Werken (Albuquerque, NM); Chris Hammetter (Albuquerque, NM); Michael B. Sinclair (Albuquerque, NM); Harlan James Brown-Shaklee (Albuquerque, NM); Joseph E. Bishop (Albuquerque, NM); Wilkins Aquino (Durham, NC)
Assignee: National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC
B29C64/393B29C64/00B29C64/10B29C64/112B29C64/176B29C64/182B29C64/20B29C64/205B29C64/227B29C64/245B29C64/25B29C64/255B29C64/30B29C64/307B29C64/40B33Y10/00B33Y30/00B33Y40/00B33Y40/10B33Y40/20B33Y50/00B33Y50/02B33Y70/00B33Y80/00B33Y99/00G10K11/162G10K11/172B29K2055/02B29K2505/08
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,498,282
App. No.
16/206,740
Granted
Nov 15, 2022
Kind
B1
Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus for fabricating an acoustic metamaterial is provided. In an embodiment, a method for fabricating an acoustic metamaterial includes determining at least one tuned physical property for each of a plurality of micro-resonators according to a desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial. For a particular physical property, a value of the tuned physical property for at least one of the plurality of micro-resonators is different from a value of the tuned physical property for at least one other of the plurality of micro-resonators. The method also includes additively forming the acoustic metamaterial such that the acoustic metamaterial comprises a first structure and the plurality of micro-resonators embedded within the first structure. Forming the acoustic metamaterial is performed such that an actual physical property of each of the plurality of micro-resonators is equal to a corresponding tuned physical property for each of the plurality of micro-resonators.

Claims (28)

1. A method for fabricating an acoustic metamaterial, the method comprising:

determining at least one tuned physical property for each of a plurality of micro-resonators according to a desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial comprising iteratively tuning the at least one tuned physical property for each of the plurality of micro-resonators, wherein for a particular physical property, a value of the tuned physical property for at least one of the plurality of micro-resonators is different from a value of the tuned physical property for at least one other of the plurality of micro-resonators; and

additively forming the acoustic metamaterial such that the acoustic metamaterial comprises a first structure and the plurality of micro-resonators embedded within the first structure, the additively forming performed such that an actual physical property of each of the plurality of micro-resonators is equal to a corresponding tuned physical property for each of the plurality of micro-resonators,

wherein the tuned physical property comprises a mass density and

wherein the additively forming the acoustic metamaterial comprises mixing a first material and a second material in a determined ratio to produce a third material with a third material mass density equal to a tuned mass density for a corresponding one of the plurality of micro-resonators, the first material comprising a first mass density, the second material comprising a second mass density different from the first mass density.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tuned physical property further comprises one or more of a stiffness, a size, a shape, and a location.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the additively forming the acoustic metamaterial comprises forming a low mass density acoustic resonator from at least one of the first and second materials such that the low mass density acoustic resonator contains voids within the low mass density acoustic resonator such that the mass density of the low mass density acoustic resonator is less than a mass density of the first material.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the low mass density acoustic resonator comprises a porous foam like structure.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein low mass density acoustic resonator comprises a ring of at least one of the first material and the second material, the ring defining a hole devoid of solid material, the combination of the ring and the hole providing a micro-resonator having a micro-resonator density equivalent to a corresponding desired mass density.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the low mass density acoustic resonator further comprises a mesh structure within the hole.

7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the voids comprise one of a gas, a vacuum, or another solid material.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first material comprises tungsten (W) and the second material comprises a polymer.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the polymer comprises acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial comprises at least one of a negative modulus, a negative density, a negative refractive index, an imaginary speed of sound, a complex wave number, and a purely imaginary wave number.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial comprises at least one of no vibrational wave propagation, acoustic dampening, structural isolation, and acoustic cloaking.

12. A method for fabricating an acoustic metamaterial, the method comprising:

determining at least one tuned physical property for each of a plurality of micro-resonators according to a desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial comprising iteratively tuning the at least one tuned physical property for each of the plurality of micro-resonators, wherein for a particular physical property, a value of the tuned physical property for at least one of the plurality of micro-resonators is different from a value of the tuned physical property for at least one other of the plurality of micro-resonators; and

additively forming the acoustic metamaterial comprising 3D printing such that the acoustic metamaterial comprises a first structure and the plurality of micro-resonators embedded within the first structure, the additively forming performed such that an actual physical property of each of the plurality of micro-resonators is equal to a corresponding tuned physical property for each of the plurality of micro-resonators,

wherein the tuned physical property comprises a mass density and

wherein the additively forming the acoustic metamaterial comprises mixing a first material and a second material in a determined ratio to produce a third material with a third material mass density equal to a tuned mass density for a corresponding one of the plurality of micro-resonators, the first material comprising a first mass density, the second material comprising a second mass density different from the first mass density.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the tuned physical property further comprises one or more of a stiffness, a size, a shape, and a location.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the additively forming the acoustic metamaterial comprises forming a low mass density acoustic resonator from at least one of the first and second materials such that the low mass density acoustic resonator contains voids within the low mass density acoustic resonator such that the mass density of the low mass density acoustic resonator is less than a mass density of the first material.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the low mass density acoustic resonator comprises a porous foam like structure.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein low mass density acoustic resonator comprises a ring of at least one of the first material and the second material, the ring defining a hole devoid of solid material, the combination of the ring and the hole providing a micro-resonator having a micro-resonator density equivalent to a corresponding desired mass density.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the low mass density acoustic resonator further comprises a mesh structure within the hole.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the voids comprise one of a gas, a vacuum, or another solid material.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial comprises at least one of a negative modulus, a negative density, a negative refractive index, an imaginary speed of sound, a complex wave number, and a purely imaginary wave number.

20. The method of claim 12 , wherein the desired acoustic property of the acoustic metamaterial comprises at least one of no vibrational wave propagation, acoustic dampening, structural isolation, and acoustic cloaking.

Assignments (3)
CONFIRMATORY LICENSE Recorded Sep 16, 2025
From: NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SANDIA, LLC
To: NNSA
Reel/Frame 072869/0982 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 30, 2019
From: WALSH, TIMOTHY F.; VAN DE WERKEN, NEKODA; HAMMETTER, CHRIS; SINCLAIR, MICHAEL B.; BROWN-SHAKLEE, HARLAN JAMES; BISHOP, JOSEPH E.; AQUINO, WILKINS
To: NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SANDIA, LLC
Reel/Frame 050566/0510 →
CONFIRMATORY LICENSE Recorded Feb 26, 2019
From: NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SANDIA, LLC
To: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Reel/Frame 049984/0214 →
Cited By (4)
US 12,190,016 US 12,241,798 US 12,255,555 US 12,562,143