Using of an Auxetic Structure as Reinforcement of a Bending Reinforced Concrete Beam

Materials which have negative Poisson’s ratio are entitled as auxetics. Auxetics can be designed as micro- to macro-sized structures. The use of auxetics in civil engineering structures has been studied only to a limited extent. In this study, a re-entrant medium-size auxetic structure is employed as reinforcement of a reinforced concrete beam. The beam is subjected to static and dynamic loading conditions and then investigated by means of maximum vertical displacements of the beam. Besides, normal stresses and shear stresses of the concrete are also assessed. To interpret the performance of the auxetic reinforcement, obtained results are compared with the results of another beam which has non-auxetic reinforcement. The results show that these structures behave with bending compatibility as expected and due to the negative Poisson’s ratio, they led to shear strength increase. Auxetic structures can be employed as reinforcement in a beam. Besides, they can be employed without concrete to increase the shear strength in the case of high shear and impact strength if it is needed.