Design and Development of Auxetic Microstructures Using Structural Optimization Techniques
The objective of this work is the design and development of an auxetic structure, through finite element modeling and structural optimization, as well as computational simulation of the structure behavior. The material with negative Poisson’s ratio is known as auxetic and has different behavior a conventional one, since they expand laterally when tensioned and contract all the sides when compressed. Commercial project tools were used, such as CAD for geometry modeling and finite element software (CAE) for the structural analysis. Through the computational simulation, sensitivity analyses have been carried out by evaluating three geometries, focusing which variables (dimensional parameters) have the most influence regarding the auxetic behavior. In the second step of the work, a parametric optimization study was performed using the OPTISTRUCT software, through which it was possible to obtain the variables combination, so that the structure has the best response regarding the auxetic behavior. In the obtained results, different parameter combinations are presented, which help to understand the behavior of the structure.