Fish Cells, a new zero Poisson’s ratio metamaterial—Part I: Design and experiment

A novel cellular mechanical metamaterial called Fish Cells that exhibits zero Poisson’s ratio in both orthogonal in-plane directions is proposed. Homogenization study on the Fish Cells tessellation is conducted and substantially zero Poisson’s ratio behavior in a homogenized tessellation is shown by numerical analysis. Experimental investigations are performed to validate the zero Poisson’s ratio feature of the metamaterial and obtain force–displacement response of the metamaterial in elastic and plastic zone. A detailed discussion about the effect of the numerical model approach and joints on the structural response of the metamaterial is presented. Morphing skin is a potential application for Fish Cells metamaterial because of the integration benefits of zero Poisson’s ratio design. The structural integrity of the Fish Cells is investigated by studying the stiffness augmentation under tension and in presence of constraints on transverse edges. Finally, geometrical enhancements for improved integrity of the Fish Cells are presented that result in substantially zero stiffness augmentation required for morphing skins.