Abstract
Additive manufacturing enables innovative structural design for industrial applications, which allows the fabrication of lattice structures with enhanced mechanical properties, including a high strength-to-relative-density ratio. However, to commercialize lattice structures, it is necessary to define the designability of lattice geometries and characterize the associated mechanical responses, including the compressive strength. The objective of this study was to provide an optimized design process for lattice structures and develop a lattice structure characterization database that can be used to differentiate unit cell topologies and guide the unit cell selection for compression-dominated structures. Linear static finite element analysis (FEA), nonlinear FEA, and experimental tests were performed on 11 types of unit cell-based lattice structures with dimensions of 20 mm × 20 mm × 20 mm. Consequently, under the same relative density conditions, simple cubic, octahedron, truncated cube, and truncated octahedron-based lattice structures with a 3 × 3 × 3 array pattern showed the best axial compressive strength properties. Correlations among the unit cell types, lattice structure topologies, relative densities, unit cell array patterns, and mechanical properties were identified, indicating their influence in describing and predicting the behaviors of lattice structures.
Highlights
Our investigation revealed that the unit cell topology, relative density, and pattern arrangement played an important role in determining the mechanical properties of the additive manufactured lattice structures
Under the same relative density conditions, it was confirmed that the simple cubic lattice structure with a 3 × 3 × 3 array pattern had the best axial compressive strength properties among all the analyzed lattice structures
The main findings of this study are summarized as follows: 1. The unit cell topologies of the lattice structures were designed as described in Section 3.1 by determining r/s ratios
Summary
Cellular structures, such as animal bones, tree trunks, leaves, corals, and honeycombs, exist naturally in the environment [1]. Human beings have processed various natural cellular structures, such as corks and other wooden products, for various applications, and have manufactured and utilized various artificial cellular structures by imitating natural cellular structures. Polymer-based foam structures, metal-based honeycomb, and truss structures are the commonly used cellular structures [2]. Polymer foams are commonly used in applications such as packaging containers and insulations [3]. Metal honeycomb and truss structures are used as lightweight structures and shock-absorbing materials in various industries, including aerospace, architecture, automobile, and electronic industries [4]
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