Auxetic Polymer Foams: Production, Modeling and Applications

Abstract

Auxetic materials have high potential due to their exceptional properties resulting from their negative Poisson ratio. Recently, several auxetic polymer-based materials have been developed. In fact, several applications are looking for a lightweight (less material consumed in production and transport) while having high mechanical performances (impact absorption, rigidity, strength, resistance, etc.). So, a balance between density and toughness/strength is of high importance, especially for military, sporting, and transport applications. So auxetic materials (especially foams) can provide high impact protection while limiting the material’s weight. This article presents a review of recent advances with a focus on auxetic polymers, with particular emphasis on the auxetic polymer foams in terms of their fabrication methods and processing conditions (depending on the nature of the cellular structure), the effect of the fabrication parameters on their final properties, as well as their models and potential applications.