Novel modified triply periodic minimal surfaces (MTPMS) developed using genetic algorithm

Abstract

The desirable properties of natural porous materials have inspired humans to design cellular materials with remarkable properties such as high energy absorption, acoustic and thermal insulation, and high specific strength structures. Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures are particularly important among the architected materials. In this research, we have developed a novel approach based on a genetic algorithm for geometry modification of TPMS structures. The approach is exploited to enhance the effective thermal and mechanical properties of TPMS structures, namely Primitive, IWP, Gyroid, and GPrime. New modified TMPS structures (MTPMS) have much higher Young's modulus and thermal conductivity than their base structures, and some of them have properties very close to the upper Hashin-Shtrikman bounds. Unlike previous studies conducted to improve the properties of TPMS structures, MTPMS can be expressed by simple equations. Although MTPMS are not generally considered minimal surfaces, they nonetheless possess the desirable geometric qualities of TPMS structures, such as being smooth and splitting space into two non-intersecting and continuous domains, etc.