Digitally Controlled Piezoelectric Metamaterial for Low-Frequency and High-Efficiency Sound Absorption

This study proposes a membrane-type metamaterial with digitally controlled piezoelectric actuation for low-frequency sound absorption applications. The hybrid structure integrates an aluminum membrane functionally bonded with programmable piezoelectric patches (PZTs) and a sealed air cavity. Two innovative control strategies-Resistance Enhancement and Resonance Enhancement-dynamically adjust circuit impedance to maximize electromechanical energy conversion efficiency, thereby optimizing absorption at targeted frequencies. These strategies are implemented via a real-time digital feedback system. A coupled piezoelectric-structural-acoustic model is established to characterize the system's transfer function, with validation through both finite element simulations and impedance tube experiments. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate nearly complete absorption around the resonant frequency, and the bandwidth can be further broadened through multi-resonance superposition. Theoretical analysis confirms that the active control strategies simultaneously modulate the acoustic impedance components (resistance and reactance), thereby optimizing electromechanical energy conversion efficiency. This work establishes a novel active-control methodology for low-frequency and high-efficiency noise mitigation.