Seismic surface wave attenuation by resonant metasurfaces on stratified soil

Abstract This study aims to theoretically and numerically investigate the dispersion relations of Rayleigh waves propagating through vertical oscillators periodically distributed on stratified media. The classical elastodynamics theory and an effective medium approximation method are adopted to describe the dynamic behavior of metasurfaces and hybridization between the local oscillators and the foundational surface wave modes. The Abo‐zena algorithm and delta‐matrix method are combined to simplify the Eigen equation to overcome the accuracy problem in solving the closed‐form dispersion laws and improve the computational efficiency. Subsequently, plane‐strain finite element (FE) models with three configurations are developed to confirm the analytical predictions and obtain further insight into the resonator‐Rayleigh wave coupling mechanism. The numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical solutions, revealing that only the foundational mode is strongly coupled with the vertical resonators at resonance, while the surface wave band gap reported in homogeneous media is crossed by the remaining higher‐order surface modes. The attenuation performance and mechanical behavior of a finite‐length metasurface are investigated, and it is demonstrated that the output surface ground motion can be significantly reduced in a narrow frequency band near resonance. Moreover, a graded resonant metasurface with decreasing frequency is simulated to assess the feasibility of broadband attenuation. In summary, the aforementioned analytical framework and numerical simulation results show that the vertical oscillators placed atop a stratified soil system can be designed as resonant metasurfaces for shielding seismic surface waves to protect multiple large infrastructures or special structures from earthquake hazards.