Experimental characterization of active acoustic metamaterial cell with controllable dynamic density

Controlling wave propagation pattern within acoustic fluid domains has been the motivation for the acoustic metamaterials developments to target applications ranging from acoustic cloaking to passive noise control techniques. Currently, various numerical and analytical approaches exist to predict the fluid domain material properties necessary for specific propagation pattern. Physical attempts to realize such material properties have revealed engineered material constructions that are focused on predefined wave propagation patterns. In the current paper, coupled fluid-structure one-dimensional metamaterial cell, in which piezoelectric active ingredient has been introduced, is manufactured to achieve controllable dynamic density. The density-controllable cell has been manufactured by coupling a water-filled cavity with piezoelectric elements in a cell of 4.5 cm length and 4.1 cm diameter subject to impulse excitation. A finite element model of the cell has been developed and its predictions are validated against the experimental results. The validated model is utilized to predict the changes in the pressure gradient inside the developed cell which is a direct measure of the changes introduced to the dynamic density of the acoustic metamaterial domain. With such predictions, it is demonstrated that densities as high as 3.2 gm/cm(3) and as low as 0.72 gm/cm(3) can be achieved experimentally for excitation frequencies ranging between 100 Hz and 500 Hz. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4759327]