Cellular materials such as metal foams or auxetic metamaterials are interesting microheterogeneous materials used for lightweight construction and as
energy absorbers. Their macroscopic behavior is related to their specific mesoscopic deformation by a strong structure-property-relationship. Digital image
correlation and infrared thermography are two methods to visualize and study
the local deformation behavior in materials. The present study deals with the
full-field thermomechanical analysis of the mesomechanical deformation in
Ni/PU hybrid foams and Ni/polymer hybrid auxetic structures performing a
correlative digital image correlation and infrared thermography. Instead of comparing and correlating only the primary output variables of both methods, strain
and temperature, also strain rates and temperature rates occurring during deformation were compared. These allow for a better correlation and more conclusive
results than obtained using only the primary output variables