Experimental Analysis of Strain and Thermal Behaviour on 3D Printed Flexible Auxetic Structures

The unique features conferred by negative Poisson’s ratio have made auxetic materials the focus of considerable attention among mechanical metamaterials. This study experimentally investigates the mechanical properties of a 3D printed soft auxetic structure under tensile loading conditions, highlighting the strain and temperature distributions and the dynamic Poisson’s ratio, focusing on the elongation domain with the maximum auxetic effect. The study uses a combination of experimental testing with a DIC system to measure the strain field and an IRT camera to record temperatures over time. The study results show that the mechanical properties of auxetic structures can be controlled by adjusting the design and material parameters. This research contributes to understanding the behaviour of flexible auxetic structures and can be used in several fields, such as aerospace, biomedical engineering, and energy storage.