Experimental and numerical investigation of high-performance 3D-printed hybrid near-zero Poisson’s ratio structures

Abstract Auxetic and honeycomb metamaterials exhibit excellent energy absorption capabilities; however, they often fail to satisfy diverse and competing design requirements. To address this limitation, different hybrid design strategies are proposed. Hybrid honeycomb structure is developed by combining a conventional hexagonal honeycomb with a reentrant configuration, aiming to achieve near zero Poisson’s ratio (ZPR) structures with enhanced mechanical performance. A validated finite element model is employed to investigate the effects of the hybridization strategy on Poisson’s ratio, specific energy absorption (SEA), and peak crushing force. The results demonstrate that, under identical relative density conditions, the HX-RE honeycomb significantly outperforms the traditional re-entrant structure, exhibiting a 158.5% increase in Young’s modulus and a 64% improvement in SEA, while maintaining a near ZPR under large deformations. This unique characteristic gives them an edge over auxetic structures and makes them well-suited for a variety of applications where stable high energy absorptions are required.