Artificial Seismic Shadow Zone by Acoustic Metamaterials

Abstract

We developed a new method of earthquakeproof engineering to create an artificial seismic shadow zone using acoustic metamaterials. By designing huge empty boxes with a few side-holes corresponding to the resonance frequencies of seismic waves and burying them around the buildings that we want to protect, the velocity of the seismic wave becomes imaginary. The meta-barrier composed of many meta-boxes attenuates the seismic waves, which reduces the amplitude of the wave exponentially by dissipating the seismic energy. This is a mechanical method of converting the seismic energy into sound and heat. We estimated the sound level generated from a seismic wave. This method of area protection differs from the point protection of conventional seismic design, including the traditional cloaking method. The meta-barrier creates a seismic shadow zone, protecting all the buildings within the zone. The seismic shadow zone is tested by computer simulation and compared with a normal barrier.

4 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (3)

• Reverse Doppler Effect of Sound
• Elastic metamaterials with simultaneously negative effective shear modulus and mass density
• Acoustic Metameterial with Negative Modulus

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Effective model for elastic waves propagating in a substrate supporting a dense array of plates/beams with flexural resonances
• Acoustic Eaton lens array and its fluid application