Theoretical and Numerical Investigation of the Effective Mechanical Properties of an Arc Star-Shaped Auxetic Honeycomb

Background: Auxetic honeycombs have attracted a lot of attention due to their excellent properties, including lightweight, and outstanding impact resistance and energy absorption. Methods: This study focuses on a new type of arc star-shaped honeycomb (ASSH) by replacing the tip angles of the classical star-shaped honeycomb (SSH) with curved edges. The theoretical expressions of the effective Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus are deduced by using the Timoshenko beam theory and energy method. Furthermore, the numerical model is also established through the Finite Element Method (FEM); then, both the analytical and computational approaches are adopted to conduct parametric analysis. Results: It was found that the effective mechanical properties obtained by theoretical analysis and the FEM are consistent with each other, and ASSH bears tunable effective Poisson’s ratio and Young’s modulus under varying geometric configurations. Conclusion: The present work may provide some guidance for the design and analysis of future auxetic honeycombs.