Abstract
This paper presents the design, analysis and experimental verification of strut-based lattice structures to enhance the mechanical vibration isolation properties of a machine frame, whilst also conserving its structural integrity. In addition, design parameters that correlate lattices, with fixed volume and similar material, to natural frequency and structural integrity are also presented. To achieve high efficiency of vibration isolation and to conserve the structural integrity, a trade-off needs to be made between the frame’s natural frequency and its compressive strength. The total area moment of inertia and the mass (at fixed volume and with similar material) are proposed design parameters to compare and select the lattice structures; these parameters are computationally efficient and straight-forward to compute, as opposed to the use of finite element modelling to estimate both natural frequency and compressive strength. However, to validate the design parameters, finite element modelling has been used to determine the theoretical static and dynamic mechanical properties of the lattice structures. The lattices have been fabricated by laser powder bed fusion and experimentally tested to compare their static and dynamic properties to the theoretical model. Correlations between the proposed design parameters, and the natural frequency and strength of the lattices are presented.
Highlights
Additive manufacturing (AM) allows almost infinite geometrical design freedom [1], and the range and mix of potential materials is increasing [2,3]
We demonstrate how relatively simple design parameters can be used to reduce the design space and pinpoint a near-optimum design
This study presents design, experimental methodology and design parameters focusing on how to select a lattice design from many feasible strut-based lattice designs, within the same volume and from one material, to be used for a high-efficiency vibration isolation structure and to have sufficient structural integrity to sustain a mass load
Summary
Additive manufacturing (AM) allows almost infinite geometrical design freedom [1], and the range and mix of potential materials is increasing [2,3]. AM lattices have all the advantages of cellular solids, for example, lowmass and high impact energy absorbtion, and have an additional advantage: a high degree of design freedom. The freedom to exploit lattice designs is a big advantage that enables, for example, the design of lattices with material grading to provide variations in their structural properties and a controllable deformation property to avoid undesirable failure modes [4]. Another advantage of the freedom of lattice design is that topologically optimised solutions to various problems, for example mechanical, thermal, vibration and energy absorption, can be implemented. AM lattices can provide better solutions to problems where the loading condition is unpredictable during operation [4]
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