On the use of ferroelectret metamaterials towards noise mitigation and self-powered sensing in aviation

Abstract In response to growing innovation demands in aviation, open-fan propulsion systems have gained renewed attention owing to their high propulsion efficiency. However, these systems introduce substantial low-frequency acoustic excitation on the aircraft fuselage, dominated by the fundamental blade pass frequency, which poses challenges for managing cabin noise and structural vibrations. This study investigates the integration of vibroacoustic metamaterials and ferroelectrets as a synergistic approach for vibration mitigation and energy harvesting in aircraft fuselages. The proposed vibroacoustic metamaterial demonstrates a vibration attenuation of up to <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>21.6</mml:mn> <mml:mstyle scriptlevel="0"/> <mml:mtext>dB</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> at the fundamental blade pass frequency of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>300</mml:mn> <mml:mstyle scriptlevel="0"/> <mml:mtext>Hz</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , accompanied by a maximum reduction of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>18.3</mml:mn> <mml:mstyle scriptlevel="0"/> <mml:mtext>dB</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> in radiated sound power into the cabin. Electromechanical performance evaluation indicates that this approach enables broadband energy harvesting with a power conversion efficiency of up to 2.85%, providing sufficient energy to sustain low-power sensor systems. This combination of novel technologies offers a promising pathway for enhanced noise control and self-powered sensing in next-generation aircraft and thin-walled structures in lightweight design.