EPFL Improves the Performance of Acoustic Metasurfaces via Modeling

Hervé Lissek, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

At the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), engineers have designed an acoustic metasurface that could be used to enhance the acoustics of concert halls, soundproof homes, and reduce the noise of an engine during a flight. The many complex phenomena that must be considered in modeling a metasurface make the decision to use multiphysics simulation an easy choice. With simulation, the engineers can assess the sound performance of the designed devices, illuminate details invisible in physical experimentation, and realize materials capable of precisely manipulating sound.