Dynamic Tests for Energy Absorption by Selected Auxetic Fabrics

Experimental dynamic tests for energy absorption by four selected auxetic fabrics were conducted and analyzed. An original test stand was designed, manufactured and attached to a Hopkinson's bar. The energy absorbed by an auxetic curtain was expressed in terms of the energy of the maximum elastic deformation of a unit volume along the support line of the witness-plate. A quasi-impulse load was induced using a gas blast under a pressure corresponding to an indoors deflagration explosion of a propane-air mixture in a vented room. The auxetic fabric with the best energy-absorption properties was identified on the basis of the comparative analysis using a reference system with a steel specimen.