Acoustic Metamaterials and Labyrinthine Designs for Ventilation and Mufflers

Acoustic metamaterials are engineered materials that control and manipulate sound in ways not possible with conventional media. Among them, labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials—with their intricate and coiled channels—are especially effective at attenuating low-frequency noise. By forcing sound to travel longer paths, they introduce phase delays and Fano interference, enabling broadband noise reduction in compact designs. These properties make them highly suitable for ventilation systems (maintaining airflow while blocking sound) and mufflers (achieving effective and lightweight noise suppression).

Labyrinthine Acoustic Metamaterial in COMSOL Multiphysics

In this tutorial, I numerically investigate a labyrinthine acoustic metamaterial using COMSOL Multiphysics®. The study focuses on sound transmission loss (STL) and dispersion curve analysis. Results show strong low-frequency attenuation, while the Floquet periodic boundary condition of the dispersion relation reveals subwavelength band gaps caused by the geometry’s tortuosity.

With LiveLink™ for SOLIDWORKS®, geometric parameters such as channel length and cross-sectional area are directly modified, allowing rapid parametric sweeps and design tuning. This integrated workflow streamlines the development of advanced acoustic devices for noise control applications.

This tutorial consists of three parts, covering sound transmission loss (STL), dispersion curve analysis, and a parametric study with COMSOL Multiphysics®.