Total reflection of flexural waves by circular meta-slab and its application in vibration isolation

•The refraction law followed by waves passing through a circular meta-slab is derived.•The conditions that a total-reflection circular meta-slab need to satisfy are expounded.•The transmission coefficient and phase shift for circular subunits are derived.•The total reflection abilities of a circular meta-slab subjected to the central, eccentric, and outside excitations are demonstrated, respectively.•The application of total reflection to vibration isolation of a finite and boundary-free circular plate with the circular meta-slab embedded is investigated.•The vibration isolation ability of the designed circular meta-slab is verified by experiments.