Computational Verification and Experimental Validation of the Vibration-Attenuation Properties of a Geometrically Nonlinear Metamaterial Design

Metamaterials continue to be conceptually intriguing for the manipulation of propagating waves. However, preventing low-frequency wave propagation proves to be challenging, due to limited metamaterial dimensions and mass. This study focuses on a metamaterial lattice featuring geometrically nonlinear behavior that can lead to negative stiffness, aimed at overcoming the requirement of large mass for low-frequency vibration attenuation. This approach can find application in structural engineering to protect against low-frequency excitations---such as earthquakes.