The endless development of physical-mathematical formulations,
powerful analytical methods and computational techniques, combined
with recent extraordinary advances in high-technology microengineering
and high-fidelity manufacturing, are paving the way
for the emergence of an entirely new generation of microstructured
materials, known as mechanical or acoustic metamaterials. The
macroscopic dynamic behavior of mechanical metamaterials can
be governed by appropriately designing the topology, compositeness
and architecture of the periodic cellular microstructure. Proper
optimization of microstructural design can enable extreme or exotic
performance to be achieved, unattainable by natural or traditional
synthetic materials. Consequently, the advent of mechanical metamaterials
opens up completely new and revolutionary possibilities
in the customization of functional and tunable systems with fascinating
applications in traditional and emerging engineering fields,
including shock absorption, noise cancellation, wave focusing, energy
harvesting, vibration shielding and sonar invisibility, among
many others. The objective of this short course is to provide an
updated basic knowledge on mechanical metamaterials, organized
in the following topics: 1. Introduction to mechanical metamaterials,
2. Free wave propagation in periodic materials, 3. Mechanisms
of formation and manipulation of the frequency band structure, 4.
Methods of wave propagation analysis in the time and frequency
domain, 5. Mechanical metamaterials for sound insulation and vibration
protection, 6. Dynamic phenomena in nonlinear metamaterials.
27 - 28 May 2026
Aula Riunioni 329
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale e Geotecnica
Via Eudossiana 18, Roma