Convolutional autoencoder for on-demand parametric inverse design of local resonator geometry in wind turbine metastructure targeting vibration control

Abstract Vibration control in structures is essential to mitigate undesired dynamic responses, thereby enhancing stability, safety, and performance under varying loading conditions. Mechanical metamaterials have emerged as effective solutions, enabling tailored dynamic properties for vibration attenuation. This study introduces a convolutional autoencoder framework for the inverse design of local resonators embedded in mechanical metamaterials. The model learns from the dynamic behaviour of primary structures coupled with ideal absorbers to predict the geometric parameters of resonators that achieve desired vibration control performance. Unlike conventional approaches requiring full numerical models, the proposed method operates as a data-driven tool, where the target frequency to be mitigated is provided as input, and the model directly outputs the resonator geometry. A large dataset, generated through physics-informed simulations of ideal absorber dynamics, supports training while incorporating both spectral and geometric variability. Within the architecture, the encoder maps input receptance spectra to resonator geometries, while the decoder reconstructs the target receptance response, ensuring dynamic consistency. Once trained, the framework predicts resonator configurations that satisfy predefined frequency targets with high accuracy, enabling efficient design of passive controllers of the syntonized mass type. This study specifically demonstrates the application of the methodology to resonators embedded in wind turbine metastructures, a critical context for mitigating structural vibrations and improving operational efficiency. Results confirm strong agreement between predicted and target responses, underscoring the potential of deep learning techniques to support on-demand inverse design of mechanical metamaterials for smart vibration control in wind energy and related engineering applications.