Simultaneous low-frequency vibration isolation and energy harvesting via attachable metamaterials

In this study, we achieved energy localization and amplification of flexural vibrations by utilizing the defect mode of plate-attachable locally resonant metamaterials, thereby realizing compact and low-frequency vibration energy suppression and energy harvesting with enhanced output performance. We designed a cantilever-based metamaterial unit cell to induce local resonance inside a periodic supercell structure and form a bandgap within the targeted low-frequency range of 300–450 Hz. Subsequently, a defect area was created by removing some unit cells to break the periodicity inside the metamaterial, which led to the isolation and localization of the vibration energy. This localized vibration energy was simultaneously converted into electrical energy by a piezoelectric energy harvester coupled with a metamaterial inside the defect area. Consequently, a substantially enhanced energy harvesting output power was achieved at 360 Hz, which was 43-times higher than that of a bare plate without metamaterials. The proposed local resonant metamaterial offers a useful and multifunctional platform with the capability of vibration energy isolation and harvesting, while exhibiting easy handling via attachable designs that can be tailored in the low-frequency regime.