Scientists use metamaterials to develop innovative solutions to mitigate the negative impact of noise and vibration

METAVISION (acronym for "METAmaterials for VIbration and Sound reductION") is an international project in which the Department of Civil Engineering (DEC) of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) participates, which aims at using metamaterials to develop acoustic applications for the mitigation of noise and vibration issues in industry, buildings or means of transport.

Luís Godinho, project coordinator at FCTUC, explains what metamaterials are: "They are artificial materials, modified or created in order to present certain specific properties, designed for a particular application. In the case of acoustics and vibrations, we seek to use concepts such as acoustic or mechanical resonators, or energy absorbing elements to create structures, whose behaviour as a whole, presents protection performances far beyond those expected or observed in an isolated material".

The goal of METAVISION is to provide high-quality training on these innovative solutions to a new generation of high achieving doctoral candidates, allowing new design and analysis methods to be developed during the course of these doctoral programmes, in order to expand the performance and applicability of metamaterials.

Thus, this research "aims to reconcile two conflicting trends. On the one hand, people are becoming increasingly aware of the negative health impact of excessive noise and vibration exposure. However, we also know that current noise and vibration solutions still require too much mass or volume to be practically feasible, particularly for lower frequencies.” the researcher explains.

According to Luís Godinho, this project brings together universities, research institutes and small and large businesses from the industrial production, construction, transport and equipment sectors, with relevant experience to create the collaborative research and innovation environment needed to turn metamaterials from purely academic concepts to large scale manufacturing. Therefore, the central concern of METAVISION is the industrial applicability of new noise and vibration control solutions, paving the way for a more quiet and greener Europe.

The project is funded by the European Commission under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) - Doctoral Network typology, and led by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). Besides the UC, it also involves the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), as well as several companies.

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Original news article in Portuguese:Sara Machado | FCTUC

Abridged version in English: Diana Taborda