A review of geometric modeling methods in microstructure design and manufacturing

TL;DR

This paper reviews existing geometric modeling methods for microstructure design, highlighting current challenges, recent progress, and future directions to enhance microstructure manufacturing in mechanical engineering.

Contribution

It compiles and clarifies the state-of-the-art in microstructure geometric modeling, identifying gaps and proposing future research avenues like generative representations.

Findings

Summarizes current microstructure modeling techniques

Identifies key challenges and limitations

Suggests future research directions

Abstract

Microstructures, characterized by intricate structures at the microscopic scale, hold the promise of important disruptions in the field of mechanical engineering due to the superior mechanical properties they offer. One fundamental technique of microstructure design and manufacturing is geometric modeling, which generates the 3D computer models required to run high-level procedures such as simulation, optimization, and process planning. There is, however, a lack of comprehensive discussions on this body of knowledge. The goal of this paper is to compile existing microstructure modeling methods and clarify the challenges, progress, and limitations of current research. It also concludes with future research directions that may improve and/or complement current methods, such as compressive and generative microstructure representations. By doing so, the paper sheds light on what has already been made possible for microstructure modeling, what developments can be expected in the near future, and which topics remain problematic.