Design and experimental demonstration of fabric phononic crystals

Fabric materials have been extensively studied and utilized in various applications. Acoustic metamaterials are engineered structures that possess unique material properties and wave control capabilities not found in naturally occurring materials. Although there has been a profusion of research on both fabrics and acoustic metamaterials, little attention has been given to combining these two areas. This research introduces fabric phononic crystals, an innovative class of acoustic metamaterials formed through periodic patterns in woven-based fabrics with tailored mechanical properties. The fabric phononic crystals are designed to exhibit application-specific band structures for acoustic wave control. The mechanical properties of the woven fabrics are experimentally characterized. The out-of-plane vibration modes of the fabric phononic crystals and their frequency responses are simulated using a homogenized plate model and experimentally validated. Bandgaps at designated frequency ranges are demonstrated. This study bridges the gap between metamaterial research and its real-world implementations in textiles, highlighting the potential of fabric phononic crystals as a lightweight, flexible, and scalable solution for applications such as vibration protection and wearable sensing.