Ultrathin acoustic metamaterial as super absorber for broadband low-frequency underwater sound

Abstract In this work, an ultrathin acoustic metamaterial formed by space-coiled water channels with a rubber coating is proposed for underwater sound absorption. The proposed metamaterial achieves perfect sound absorption ( $$\alpha$$ α > 0.99) at 181 Hz, which has a deep subwavelength thickness ( $$\lambda {/}162$$ λ / 162 ). The theoretical prediction is consistent with the numerical simulation, which demonstrate the broadband low-frequency sound absorption performance of the proposed super absorber. The introduction of rubber coating leads to a significant decrease of the effective sound speed in the water channel, resulting in the phenomenon of slow-sound propagation. From the perspective of numerical simulations and acoustic impedance analysis, it is proved that the rubber coating on the channel boundary causes slow-sound propagation with inherent dissipation, which is the key to meet the impedance matching condition and achieve perfect low-frequency sound absorption. Parametric studies are also carried out to investigate the effect of specific structural and material parameters on sound absorption. By tailoring key geometric parameters, an ultra-broadband underwater sound absorber is constructed, with a perfect absorption range of 365–900 Hz and a deep subwavelength thickness of 33 mm. This work paves a new way for designing underwater acoustic metamaterials and controlling underwater acoustic waves.