Experimental and numerical characterization of imperfect additively manufactured lattices based on triply periodic minimal surfaces

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Lattices based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are attracting increasing interest in seminal industries such as bone tissue engineering due to their excellent structure-property relationships. However, the potential can only be exploited if their structural integrity is ensured. This requires a fundamental understanding of the impact of imperfections that arise during additive manufacturing. Therefore, in the present study, the structure-property relationships of eight TPMS lattices, including their imperfections, are investigated experimentally and numerically. In particular, the focus is on biomimetic network TPMS lattices of the type Schoen I-WP and Gyroid, which are fabricated by laser powder bed fusion from the biocompatible alloy Ti-42Nb. The experimental studies include computed tomography measurements and compression tests. The results highlight the importance of process-related imperfections on the mechanical performance of TPMS lattices. In the numerical work, firstly the as-built morphology is artificially reconstructed before finite element analyses are performed. Here, the reconstruction procedure previously developed by the same authors is used and validated on a larger experimental matrix before more advanced calculations are conducted. Specifically, the reconstruction reduces the numerical overestimation of stiffness from up to 341% to a maximum of 26% and that of yield strength from 66% to 12%. Given a high simulation accuracy and flexibility, the presented procedure can become a key factor in the future design process of TPMS lattices.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number112197
Number of pages18
JournalMaterials and Design
Volume233(2023)
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-0584-0565/work/161116680
ORCID /0000-0003-3358-1545/work/161407663

Keywords

Keywords

  • Additive manufacturing, Imperfect lattices, Lattice structures, Numerical reconstruction, Triply periodic minimal surfaces