Seeing auxetic materials from the mechanics point of view: A structural review on the negative Poisson’s ratio

This paper summarizes research work related to materials with zero, or negative Poisson’s ratio, materials which are also referred to as auxetic materials. This review puts an emphasis on computations and aspects of their mechanics. It also considers diverse examples: from large structural, to biomedical applications. It is concluded that auxetic materials are technologically and theoretically important. While the development of the research has been dominated by periodic/ordered microstructures, the author predicts that future research will be in the direction of disordered microstructures utilizing the homogenization method.