Case Study: EPFL achieves active acoustic metasurface control with COMSOL Multiphysics

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne simulates acoustic metasurfaces in 10 seconds with Comsol

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) faced a significant challenge in controlling low-frequency sound waves, as traditional acoustic treatments are either too bulky or limited to a very narrow frequency band of just a few hertz. This limitation prevented mainstream applications in areas like concert hall acoustics and noise reduction. To overcome this, researchers at EPFL turned to COMSOL Multiphysics software from vendor Comsol to simulate and develop a novel solution.

Using Comsol Multiphysics, the EPFL team designed and simulated an active acoustic metasurface composed of an array of subwavelength loudspeaker diaphragms. This solution allowed for the electrical control of sound reflection, enabling the metasurface to steer wavefronts toward prescribed angles and absorb noise across a much broader frequency band of almost one octave. The simulation results confirmed the effectiveness of the design, and the software provided critical insights into complex physics quickly, such as mapping a room's sound pressure distribution in just ten seconds, significantly accelerating their research and development process.

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)