Xin Ren

Experiments and parametric studies on 3D metallic auxetic metamaterials with tuneable mechanical properties

Auxetic metamaterials are synthetic materials with microstructures engineered to achieve negative Poissons ratios. Auxetic metamaterials are of great interest because of their unusual properties and various potential applications. However, most of the previous research has been focused on auxetic behaviour of elastomers under elastic deformation. Inspired by our recent finding of the loss of auxetic behaviour in metallic auxetic metamaterials, a systematic experimental and numerical investigation has been carried out to explore the mechanism behind this phenomenon. Using an improved methodology of generating buckling-induced auxetic metamaterials, several samples of metallic auxetic metamaterials have been fabricated using a 3D printing technique. The experiments on those samples have revealed the special features of auxetic behaviour for metallic auxetic metamaterials and proved the effectiveness of our structural modification. Parametric studies have been performed through experimentally validated finite element models to explore the auxetic performance of the designed metallic metamaterials. It is found that the auxetic performance can be tuned by the geometry of microstructures, and the strength and stiffness can be tuned by the plasticity of the base material while maintaining the auxetic performance.

Tuning the Performance of Metallic Auxetic Metamaterials by Using Buckling and Plasticity

Metallic auxetic metamaterials are of great potential to be used in many applications because of their superior mechanical performance to elastomer-based auxetic materials. Due to the limited knowledge on this new type of materials under large plastic deformation, the implementation of such materials in practical applications remains elusive. In contrast to the elastomer-based metamaterials, metallic ones possess new features as a result of the nonlinear deformation of their metallic microstructures under large deformation. The loss of auxetic behavior in metallic metamaterials led us to carry out a numerical and experimental study to investigate the mechanism of the observed phenomenon. A general approach was proposed to tune the performance of auxetic metallic metamaterials undergoing large plastic deformation using buckling behavior and the plasticity of base material. Both experiments and finite element simulations were used to verify the effectiveness of the developed approach. By employing this approach, a 2D auxetic metamaterial was derived from a regular square lattice. Then, by altering the initial geometry of microstructure with the desired buckling pattern, the metallic metamaterials exhibit auxetic behavior with tuneable mechanical properties. A systematic parametric study using the validated finite element models was conducted to reveal the novel features of metallic auxetic metamaterials undergoing large plastic deformation. The results of this study provide a useful guideline for the design of 2D metallic auxetic metamaterials for various applications.

A simple auxetic tubular structure with tuneable mechanical properties

Auxetic materials and structures are increasingly used in various fields because of their unusual properties. Auxetic tubular structures have been fabricated and studied due to their potential to be adopted as oesophageal stents where only tensile auxetic performance is required. However, studies on compressive mechanical properties of auxetic tubular structures are limited in the current literature. In this paper, we developed a simple tubular structure which exhibits auxetic behaviour in both compression and tension. This was achieved by extending a design concept recently proposed by the authors for generating 3D metallic auxetic metamaterials. Both compressive and tensile mechanical properties of the auxetic tubular structure were investigated. It was found that the methodology for generating 3D auxetic metamaterials could be effectively used to create auxetic tubular structures as well. By properly adjusting certain parameters, the mechanical properties of the designed auxetic tubular structure could be easily tuned.

Numerical Simulations of 3D Metallic Auxetic Metamaterials in both Compression and Tension

Auxetic materials exhibit uncommon behaviour, i.e. they will shrink (expand) laterally under compression (tension). This novel feature has attracted intense research interest. However, most of previous works focus on auxetic behaviour in either compression or tension. Most of the auxetic materials are not symmetric in tension and compression under large deformation. Studies on the auxetic performance of metamaterials both in compression and tension are important but rare. As an extension of our previous research on compressive auxetic performance of 3D metallic auxetic metamaterials, numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the auxetic and other mechanical properties of the 3D metallic auxetic metamaterials in tension. The preliminary results indicated that the designed 3D metallic auxetic metamaterials exhibited better auxetic performance in compression than in tension. By increasing a pattern scale factor, auxetic performance of the 3D metallic auxetic metamaterials under tension can be improved. With proper adjustment of the pattern scale factor, an approximately symmetric auxetic performance could be achieved in compression and tension.

Design and fabrication of materials and structures with negative Poisson's ratio and negative linear compressibility

Materials and structures with auxetic and negative linear compressibility are of great potential to be used in many applications because of their uncommon mechanical deformation features. However, their design and manufacture are less studied as compared to other mechanical properties. The aim of this research is to explore several new approaches relating to the design and fabrication of cellular materials and structures with these two uncommon features. For most cellular materials and structures, these uncommon properties only exist for a limited geometric range. To begin with, the geometric limit of the microstructure of a 2D elastomer-based auxetic material was identified numerically through large deformation analysis. Within the geometric limits, a tuning method was developed further to control their mechanical properties with prescribed performance constraints. A metallic auxetic metamaterial was used as an example of the developed tuning approach, and its effectiveness was validated by experimental results with specimens manufactured using 3D printing technique.To reduce the manufacturing cost using 3D printing, a composite approach was proposed to manufacture these metamaterials. Several new cellular composite structures with negative linear compressibility composite structures were used as examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of the design approach. The test samples were manufactured using the traditional composite method with low cost. These investigations mentioned above have clearly demonstrated the feasibility of designing and manufacturing of mechanical metamaterials using the presented approaches and laid the foundation for the expansion of their potential applications.

Geometric Bounds for Buckling-Induced Auxetic Metamaterials Undergoing Large Deformation

The performance of a metamaterial is dominated by the geometric features and deformation mechanisms of its microstructure. For a certain mechanism, the geometric features have bounds in which the performance of a metamaterial such as negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) can be designed. Previous investigation on buckling-induced auxetic metamaterial revealed that there is a geometric limit for its microstructure to exhibit auxetic behaviour in infinitesimal deformation. However, the limit for auxetic metamaterials undergoing large deformation is different from that under small deformation and has not been reported yet. In this paper, the geometric limit was investigated in an elastic and infinitesimal deformation range using linear buckling analysis. Furthermore, experimentally validated finite element models were used to identify the geometric limits for auxetic metamaterials undergoing large deformation. Depending on the control parameters of the topology, the bounds were represented by a line strip for one control parameter, an area for two control parameters and spatial domain surrounded by a 3D surface for three parameters. The limit was determined by the shape and size of the void of the metamaterials and it was identified through the large deformation analysis as well as the linear buckling analysis. We found that there was a significant difference in the geometric bounds obtained through those two methods. The results from this study can be used to design an auxetic metamaterial for different applications and to control the auxetic performance.