Composite materials with Poisson's ratios close to -1 (Q1201452)

The aim of this interesting paper is to produce certain types of composite materials that can be proved to have low bulk and high shear moduli. A family of these types of two-dimensional, two-phase, composite materials with hexagonal symmetry is found with Poisson's ratios arbitrarily close to \(-1\). The bulk and shear moduli bounds of composite materials are established by use of the minimum potential energy principle and the minimum complementary energy principle, respectively. The minimum energy principles are used together with appropriate trial strain and stress fields that capture the essential mechanical behavior of composite materials under both compression and shear. A conclusive proof is provided that isotropic materials with negative Poisson's ratio exist within the framework of linear continuum mechanics. Also, two- and three-dimensional elastically isotropic laminate materials that exhibit negative Poisson's ratio are constructed simply by layering the component materials together in different directions. This investigation is a noteworthy theoretical contribution to the mechanical behavior of composite materials. However, it is restricted to static, linear and nonpolar behavior. The paper is addressed to the researchers working in the area of composite materials.