Additive Manufacturing of Body-Centered Cubic Metamaterials with Novel I-Shaped Beam Lattice Towards Enhanced Mechanical Properties

Abstract

The recent advancement of additive manufacturing paves the way to achieve the highly complex design of metamaterials. Mechanical metamaterials are promising materials for high-yield industrial applications since they demonstrate superior mechanical behaviors that cannot be found in natural materials. Designing metamaterials is crucial to ensure enhanced mechanical performances. The objective of this research is to explore different metamaterial lattices utilizing a numerical approach in order to obtain higher mechanical strength. This research employs a Mechanics of Structure Genome (MSG) method to design a novel I-shaped beam with reinforcement lattice metamaterials to attain higher mechanical properties. Three cross-sectional shapes including circular, Ibeam, and Ibeam with reinforcement and their corresponding Body-Centered Cubic (BCC) metamaterials, have been designed applying the MSG modeling approach. The Stereolithography (SLA) based additive manufacturing process is leveraged to fabricate the designed metamaterials. A standard compressive test is performed to characterize the mechanical properties. The test results reveal a remarkable improvement in the mechanical behaviors of the proposed I-shaped beam with reinforcement (Reinf Ibeam). The Reinf Ibeam demonstrates higher energy absorption capacity, stiffness, and strength compared to the other two metamaterials. A 40.57% increased energy absorption/weight ratio, 140% higher stiffness/weight ratio, and 74% larger yield strength/weight ratio are obtained for the Reinf Ibeam in comparison with circular beam lattice metamaterial.