An innovative wide and low-frequency bandgap metastructure for vibration isolation

Engineering the architecture of materials is a new and very promising approach to obtain vibration isolation properties. The biggest challenge for lattice structures exhibiting vibration isolation properties is the trade-off between compactness and wide and low-frequency bandgaps, i.e., frequency ranges where the propagation of elastic or acoustic waves is prohibited. Here, we, both numerically and experimentally, propose and demonstrate a new design concept for compact metamaterials exhibiting extraordinary properties in terms of wide and low frequency bandgap and structural characteristics. With its 4 cm side length unit cell, its bandgap opening frequency of 1478 Hz, its band-stop filter behavior in the range 1.48-15.24 kHz, and its structural characteristics, the proposed 1 x 1 x 3 metastructure represents great progress in the field of vibration isolation and a very promising solution for hand-held vibration probes applications that were unattainable so far through conventional materials.