Exploring the impact of computationally generated auxetic metamaterials in additive manufacturing: a systematic review of design, materials and applications

Auxetic metamaterials are a group of lattice structures with a Negative Poisson Ratio (NPR), which behave like an elastic material under the application of tensile and compressive forces. These engineered metamaterials have several applications in various engineering domains, including medical, biomedical, aerospace, electronics, and mechanical engineering. This presents a detailed literature study on the algorithms used for creating the lattices, lattice structure design, mechanical properties, manufacturing techniques, and deformation mechanisms, which are essential for developing novel metamaterials. The work also suggests the selection of computationally optimized metamaterials, considering the right material, mechanical, and thermal behaviour of the metamaterials for those applications. Most of the conventional manufacturing methods for producing lattice structures with NPR have several drawbacks, such as tool accessibility, material selection and load-bearing capabilities of the work material. The practical use of those lattice structures can be done by part fabrication with various Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes, where the chirality and rigidity of these lattice structures are essential to meet the exact part requirements. This paper provides the details about the metamaterials in terms of their characteristics, types, algorithms, applications and potential advancements. This review article will serve as a quick start for novices planning to work on the development of Auxetic Metamaterials.