Abstract
Diabetic foot ulcer is a common worldwide disease resulting in major or minor amputations. Different researchers have suggested that foot ulcers are curable if treated properly. Offloading the ulcer area is the first step in healing foot ulcers. Advanced orthopedic footwear is required to effectively distribute plantar pressure without stressing the ulcer. Based on the literature survey, auxetic structure can be the potential design variable for orthopedic footwear. The maximum compressive strength of specimen 1 is about 0.5 MPa. In this project, two material specimens with auxetic structures are tested. Tensile, compressive, and 3P bending tests are carried out. A comparison is made between materials by plotting stress-strain curves. Specimen 1 performed well under testing conditions and is better for auxetic structure footwear. FEA analysis is carried out to verify the result. The maximum compressive strength of specimen 2 is around 0.1 MPa. The average tensile strength of both specimens is approximately 3.135 MPA. Overall, the results of this study highlight the potential of auxetic structures in orthopedic footwear for diabetic foot ulcer treatment. Specimen 1, with its superior performance in the tests conducted, shows promise for further development and implementation in this field.

Key words: Diabetic foot ulcer; Orthopedic footwear; Auxetic structure; Compressive strength Tensile strength.