Transmissive Labyrinthine Acoustic Metamaterial‐Based Holography for Extraordinary Energy Harvesting

• Published in: Advanced engineering materials 2023-02, Vol.25 (4), p.2201117-n/a
• Main Authors: Bansal, Shubhi, Choi, Christabel, Hardwick, James, Bagchi, Biswajoy, Tiwari, Manish K., Subramanian, Sriram
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acoustic; energy; harvesting; metamaterials; piezoelectric
• ISSN: 1438-1656; 1527-2648
• DOI: 10.1002/adem.202201117

Conventional energy sources are continuously depleting, and the world is actively seeking new green and efficient energy solutions. Enormous amounts of acoustic energy are dissipated daily, but the low intensity and limited efficiency of current harvesting techniques are preventing its adoption as a ubiquitous method of power generation. Herein, a strategic solution to increase acoustic energy harvesting efficiency using a specially designed metamaterial is implemented. A scalable transmissive labyrinthine acoustic metamaterial (LAM) is designed, developed, and employed to maximize ultrasound (40 kHz) capture over its large surface area (>27 k mm2), which is focused onto a piezoelectric film (78.6 mm2), thus magnifying incident sound pressure by 13.6 times. Three different piezoelectric films – two commercial and one lab‐made nanocomposite film are tested with LAM in the acoustic energy harvesting system. An extraordinary voltage gain of 157–173% and a maximum power gain of 272% using the LAM compared to the case without the LAM are achieved. Multipoint focusing using holographic techniques, showcasing acoustic patterning to allow on‐demand simultaneous harvesting in separate locations, is demonstrated. Our versatile approach for high‐intensity acoustic energy harvesting opens future opportunities to exploit sound energy as a resource to contribute toward global sustainability. Herein, a novel approach to increase the efficiency of acoustic energy harvesting systems using a labyrinthine acoustic metamaterial is presented. The metamaterial captures acoustic energy from the sound source and focuses on the output sound onto a harvester. Ultrasound harvesting is experimentally demonstrated with three different piezoelectric films, and an extraordinary 272% maximum power gain is achieved using the metamaterial.