Characterization of FDM Manufactured Novel Hybrid Plate-TPMS Lattices under Quasi-static Compression

Abstract

The recent evolution of additive manufacturing provides the ability to create complex geometries without the need for additional machining and joining operations. As such, the scientific community has been interested in optimizing lattice structured materials, which are renowned for their exceptional mechanical behaviour in lightweight applications and are increasingly in demand for load-absorbing applications. This study introduces novel hybrid lattice structures, consisting of the combination of plate and triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattices. Elastic and plastic mechanical properties of the fused deposition modelling manufactured proposed lattices were investigated experimentally at several relative densities. The Finite Element Analysis software Abaqus was utilized to regenerate the results of the quasi-static compression experiments, predict the mechanical properties of the lattices that were imperfectly printed, and study the stress distribution within the lattices. Unlike the Face-Centred Cubic (FCC) + TPMS hybrid lattices, it was found that the hybrid Simple Cubic (SC) + TPMS lattices drastically outperformed the TPMS lattices of the same relative densities in terms of compressive modulus, yield strength, plateau stress and specific energy absorption. SC + TPMS lattices were found to exhibit primarily stretching-dominated behaviour until yielding, whilst the FCC + TPMS lattices showed stretching-dominated behaviour in the elastic region before depicting bending-dominated behaviour from the yield point and beyond. Overall, the study showed how the effect of hybridization can be either substantially beneficial or detrimental, where the SC + TPMS lattices proved promising mechanical properties, making them great candidates in strong and stiff lightweight applications.

Date of Award	Apr 2023
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Rashid Abu Al Rub (Supervisor)