Engineered Metamaterial for Acoustic Cloaking

To address the Navy need for acoustic cloaking, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Engineered Metamaterial for Acoustic Cloaking (EMAC) technology. It is based on directional density and compressibility variation with a unique structure construction. The innovations in the EMAC sublevel structure offer the Navy a 3D acoustic cloaking spherical shell capable of enclosing various objects, and eventually an elongated 3D shell for objects such as submarines. The EMAC constituents adjust directional properties to change density and compressibility, providing an anisotropic mass density with principal axes and a radially dependent bulk modulus. In Phase I POC will develop a physical model for EMAC, a validation model, a set of optimized parameters for EMAC fabrication/design appropriate for Navy acoustic cloaking applications, and demonstrate a functional component(s) of the EMAC. Based on the feasibility demonstration, in Phase II, POC plans to develop an optimized model of EMAC materials to exhibit cloaking properties at Navy acoustic frequencies and to fabricate a laboratory proof-of-concept prototype demonstrating the ability to manufacture metamaterials in small lots.