Pattern transformation induced waisted post-buckling of perforated cylindrical shells

•Waisted post-buckling pattern transformation is concluded for clamped cellular cylindrical shells.•Shell theory can be used to analyze negative Poisson's ratio formed by waisted post-buckling.•Load-carrying capacities of cellular cylindrical shells undergo sudden drop but recover subsequently.•Waisted post-buckling behavior could appear for thin-walled shell without external support.•Waisted post-buckling patterns may be found on other curved structures such as cylindrical panels. A comprehensive investigation on the extremely large post-buckling deformation of perforated cylindrical shells is conducted using experiments and verified with an analytical shell model and nonlinear finite element simulations. A “waisted” post-buckling configuration, which is characterized by uniform shrinking in the middle section of the perforated cylindrical shell, is identified. The waisted behavior is attributed to the triggering of a pattern transformation under compressive load that shows special hyperelastic metamaterial characteristics. The load-carrying capacity of waisted post-buckling suffers a sudden drop and then recovers when the holes are completely collapsed and closed. Plenty of design parameters can be utilized to enrich variations of the waisted post-buckling responses. The negative Poisson's ratio induced by pattern transformation plays a key role in forming the waisted post-buckling modes. This special hyperelastic metamaterial behavior can be easily achieved by fixing the boundaries and adjusting the geometric parameters of the shell. By comparing the characteristics of a porous cylindrical shell with those appeared for an equivalent porous panel, it is highlighted that pattern transformation can occur in a thinner porous cylindrical shell without lateral support. The waisted post-buckling modes of a perforated cylindrical shell are stable, and the shell is invulnerable to the progressively increasing applied loads. In comparison, an ordinary cylindrical shell may snap from one mode to another in the post-buckling process. Moreover, we find that some non-closed cylindrical panels can also buckle into the waisted-like modes. These findings can be applied to the construction of functional devices for soft robotics, actuators, and structural protection for facilities, etc. [Display omitted]