Multifunctional Metamaterials for Energy Harvesting and Vibration Control

Abstract

Multifunctional metamaterials (MFMs) capable of energy harvesting and vibration control are particularly attractive for smart structures, wearable/ biointegrated electronics, and intelligent robotics. Here, a novel MFM based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which can harvest environmental energy and reduce vibration simultaneously, is reported. The unit cells of the MFM consist of a local resonator, an integrated contact-separation mode TENG, and spiral-shaped connecting beams. A multiphysics theoretical model is developed for quantitatively evaluating the performance of the MFM by including the mechanical and electrical fields interactions, which is further validated by experimental testing. It is demonstrated that the TENG-based MFM can not only effectively harvest vibration energy to power electronics but also dramatically suppress low-frequency mechanical vibration. This work provides a new design and model for developing novel TENG-based MFMs for advanced smart systems used in a variety of applications.

Deep Learning-Accelerated Designs of Tunable Magneto-Mechanical Metamaterials

“…Metamaterials are artificially structured materials with carefully designed geometries, demonstrating unusual behaviors and properties, such as negative Poisson's ratio, 1,2 acoustic band gap, 3,4 energy absorption, 5,6 and electromagnetic wave manipulation. 7,8 Although mechanical metamaterials possess promising potentials, their property is encoded and unchangeable once the material is fabricated.…”

“…Metamaterials are artificially structured materials with carefully designed geometries, demonstrating unusual behaviors and properties, such as negative Poisson’s ratio, , acoustic band gap, , energy absorption, , and electromagnetic wave manipulation. , Although mechanical metamaterials possess promising potentials, their property is encoded and unchangeable once the material is fabricated. Since metamaterial properties are mainly determined by their geometries, a direct way to enhance the tunability of the properties is to induce shape reconfiguration through deformation, such as buckling, by external mechanical loads. ,− Therefore, soft active materials are explored to construct active metamaterials as they are capable of providing large deformation upon external stimuli, including heat, − light, , and magnetic fields, , enabling contactless and advanced control.…”

Magnetically Actuated Reconfigurable Metamaterials as Conformal Electromagnetic Filters

“…Metamaterials, in which “meta” means “beyond,” are architected structures exhibiting physical properties that are not present in nature. Metamaterials consist of specifically designed periodic patterns, showing tailorable mechanical, [ 1 ] acoustic, [ 2 ] optical, [ 3 ] or electromagnetic (EM) [ 4 ] properties that are beneficial for diverse functions including noise control, [ 5 ] vibration isolation, [ 6 ] EM wave manipulation, [ 7 ] cloaking, [ 8 ] energy harvesting, [ 9 ] etc. For example, EM metamaterials are capable of manipulating EM waves due to their constructed subwavelength units, whose dimension, geometry, and arrangement decide the performance of the metamaterial.…”

Fabrication of Metasurfaces on Building Construction Materials for Potential Electromagnetic Applications in the Microwave Band

“…In particular, seismic metamaterials are employed to enhance the antiseismic behavior of buildings [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Moreover, acoustic metamaterials are used to transform acoustic waves and low frequency vibrations into electrical power [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], while metamaterials performing invisible frequencies are used to enhance the efficiency of solar cells [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Additionally, metamaterial sensors are used to detect thermal fluctuations and changes in order to optimize temperature control in a building [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”