Tailoring Cellular Auxetics for Wearable Applications With Multimaterial 3D Printing
The properties of cellular materials depend as much on their architecture as on their composition. Auxetic materials are a novel class of mechanical metamaterials which exhibit an interesting property of negative Poisson’s ratio by virtue of their architecture rather than composition. One of their most interesting aspects is their improved indentation resistance, impact resistance and fracture toughness. Thus, they have potential applications in wearable impact protection. The classical re-entrant structure has been a focus of research for many years because of its well established auxetic behaviour. However, the stiff re-entrant corners, buckling of struts, less strain sensitivity and limited cellular stiffness limit its applications in wearable impact protection devices. In this work, multi-material cellular designs are proposed which have the capability to fulfill the requirements for wearable impact protection devices. With the advancements in 3D printing, multi-material cellular designs can be realized in practice. Using Finite Elements approach, two-material and multi-material cellular designs are investigated. It was observed that introduction of material gradient/distribution in the cell provides a means to tailor auxetic behaviour, cellular stiffness and strain-sensitivity as per the specific requirement. The results will lead to a better understanding of tailoring auxeticity in cellular materials and will aid in the design of auxetic wearable impact protection devices which rely on auxeticity gradients and variable auxeticity as well.