Dynamic Crushing Behaviors of Four Kinds of Auxetic Structures

Auxetic structures/materials with the negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) properties can contract when compressed and expand when stretched, different from the conventional structures/materials. Due to the unique properties, it can have higher stiffness and better impact resistance with lightweight. Therefore, the auxetic structures/materials have been applied in various engineering field, such as automobile crash box, suspension mount etc. For auxetic structures/materials with negative Poisson’s ratio, there are four typical configurations (re-entrant hexagonal, double-V, tetra star-shaped and tetra-chiral). However, comparisons on the dynamic behaviors and crashworthiness between the four auxetic structures have not been studied. In this paper, the finite element models were developed for four typical auxetic structures. The deformation modes and energy absorption properties of four different auxetic structures were explored under different impact velocities. Some interesting conclusions can be obtained to guide the engineers to how to choose and utilize the four typical auxetic structures.