Experimental evaluation of structural intensity in two-dimensional plate-type locally resonant elastic metamaterials

Elastic metamaterials utilize locally resonant mechanical elements to onset band gap characteristics that are typically exploited in vibration suppression and isolation applications. The present work employs a comprehensive structural intensity analysis (SIA) to depict the structural power distribution and variations associated with band gap frequency ranges, as well as outside them along both dimensions of a two-dimensional (2D) metamaterial. Following a brief theoretical dispersion analysis, the actual mechanics of a finite metamaterial plate undergoing flexural loading and consisting of a square array of 100 cells is examined experimentally using a fabricated prototype. Scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) tests are carried out to experimentally measure the deformations of the metamaterial in response to base excitations within a broad frequency range. In addition to confirming the attenuation and blocked propagation of elastic waves throughout the elastic medium via graphical visualizations of power flow maps, the SIA reveals interesting observations, which give additional insights into energy flow and transmission in elastic metamaterials as a result of the local resonance effects. A drastic reduction in power flow magnitudes to the bulk regions of the plate within a band gap is noticeably met with a large amplification of structural intensity around and in the neighborhood of the excitation source as a compensatory effect. Finally, the theoretical and experimentally measured streamlines of power flow are presented as an alternative tool to predict the structural power patterns and track vortices as well as confined regions of energy concentrations.