Analysis of Metamaterials in the Automotive Sector

The scope of this work is to evaluate and highlight metamaterials properties and their possible applications in automotive field. Starting from a general overview of metamaterials characteristics the work will follow a practical approach with the attempt to reproduce the study presented in the paper “Metamaterials for simultaneous acoustic and elastic bandgaps” by Waiel Elmadih, Dimitrios Chronopoulos & Jian Zhu. The simulation software chosen to perform the analysis is COMSOL Multiphysics® since it allows to design the material, shape it and perform very accurate studies in vibroacoustic scenario. The work commenced with the digital design of a single metamaterial unit cell, for an investigation into its structural properties. Following this initial design phase, various boundary conditions were applied to ensure that the simulations replicate the desired physical environment. The primary objective of this phase was to obtain similar results presented in published article, which serve as key references for this study. In the second part, simplified versions of the metamaterial design, inspired by the structure used in the physical tests referenced in the literature, were created. These simplified configurations are intended to serve as benchmarks for additional virtual analyses aimed at exploring the metamaterial's behavior. This section of the study is particularly focused on understanding if these simpler shapes can perform in acceptable way as the original shape. By examining these modified designs, the study seeks to determine if the essential properties of the metamaterial can be preserved even with a simplified structure, potentially encouraging its applicability in real-world scenarios where manufacturing constraints and costs are crucial considerations.