Project Abstract

 

An acoustic black hole (ABH) is a passive vibration control technique in which a structure is modified to have a tapering end of power-law profile. As an elastic wave travels into the taper, its speed decreases, but its amplitude increases. A damping mechanism can be attached to the tip to extract the vibrational energy.

As such, the tapering profile acts like a vibration absorber. However, in practice, the tip of the fabricated profile will have a finite thickness, which reflects the elastic wave, making it impractical as a vibration absorber. This project will focus on exploring how the ABH effect can be embedded in a discrete repetitive structure in which negligible reflection at the tip end is potentially achievable.

ABH effect embedded in discrete structures is expected to display complex vibrational characteristics. This project will investigate the characteristics of the waves to mitigate the vibrational effect.

This study will lead to better understanding of how the ABH effect can be implemented on engineering structures with spatially regular construction, such as building frameworks, multi-layered composites, multi-blade turbines, and metamaterials. The research will focus primarily on theoretical studies and numerical simulation analyses.