Experimental Study of Auxetic Structures Made of Re-Entrant (“Bow-Tie”) Cells

Abstract

This article presents a study of metamaterial structures that exhibit auxetic properties. This unusual phenomenon of simultaneous orthogonal expansion of the metamaterial in tension, and vice versa in compression, with vertical and horizontal contraction, is explored for structures made of re-entrant unit cells. The geometry of such structures is analysed in detail, and the relationships are determined by the value of the Poisson’s ratio. It is shown that the Poisson’s ratio depends not only on the geometry of the unit cell but also on the degree of strain. Depending on the dimensions of the structure’s horizontal and inclined struts, the limit values are determined for the angle between them. By creating physical structures made of re-entrant cells, it is demonstrated that the mechanism of change in the structure’s dimensions is not due to the hinging but to the bending of the struts. The experimental section contains the results of compression tests of a symmetrical structure and tensile tests of a flat mesh structure. In the case of the mesh structure, a modification of the re-entrant cells was used to create arched strut joints. This modification makes it possible to obtain greater elongation of the mesh structure and larger NPR values.