On the potential of connected stars as auxetic systems

Abstract

Auxetic materials and structures exhibit the unexpected behaviour of getting wider when stretched and thinner when compressed. This behaviour requires the structures (the internal structure in the case of materials) to have geometric features, which must deform in a way that results in the structure expanding when stretched. This paper assesses the potential for auxetic behaviour of a novel class of two-dimensional periodic structures which can be described as “connected stars” as they contain star-shaped units of different rotational symmetry which are connected together to form two-dimensional periodic structures. These structures will be studied through a technique based on force-field based methods (the EMUDA technique) and it will be shown that some, but not all, of these structures can exhibit auxetic behaviour. An attempt is made to explain the reasons for the presence or absence of a negative Poisson's ratio in these systems.

Keywords:

• Auxetic
• Negative Poisson's ratio
• Stars
• Modelling
• EMUDA

Acknowledgements

The work of Mr Pierre-Sandre Farrugia, Mr Trevor G. Chircop Bray and Miss Lara Trapani is gratefully acknowledged.