Three-dimensional textile structural composites with negative Poisson's ratio

In this study, two types of 3D auxetic textile structural composites, Composite A and Composite B, were developed for energy absorption. Both of them were made by dip-coating 3D auxetic textile reinforcements consisting of three yarn systems with silicone based polymer. The difference of two composites comes from the arrangement of the warp yarns in their reinforcement structure which leads to different deformation and mechanical responses. The quasi-static compressive tests were conducted to study their mechanical properties and deformation mechanism. Results show that Composite B exhibits higher initial stiffness due to the close contact of warp yarns between each layer, while the composite A shows higher values of negative Poisson's ratio owing to the easy bending of weft yarns and early contraction of the whole structure. Results also show that Composite B needs lower compressive force to absorb the same energy absorption than Composite A, hence it is better suitable for applying as protective materials.