Energy absorption of sustainable lattice structures under static compression

TL;DR

This study evaluates the energy absorption capabilities of 3D-printed lattice structures under static compression, demonstrating the effectiveness of specific designs and validating results with finite element simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive experimental and simulation analysis of lattice structures' energy absorption, highlighting the superior performance of the truncated octahedron design.

Findings

Truncated octahedron lattice shows highest energy absorption.

Finite element simulations accurately predict lattice responses.

Lattice structures can recover after multiple load cycles.

Abstract

Lattice-like cellular materials, with their unique combination of lightweight, high strength, and good deformability, are promising for engineering applications. This paper investigates the energy-absorbing properties of four truss-lattice structures with two defined volume fractions of material in static compression experiments. The mass-specific energy absorption is derived. The specimens are manufactured by SLA printing of viscoelastic polymeric material. Sustainability implies that the lattice structures can withstand multiple loads and return to their original state after some recovery. Additionally, we present finite element simulations of our experiments and show that these calculations are, in principle, able to predict the different responses of the lattices. Like in the experiments, the truncated octahedron-lattice structure proved to be the most effective for energy absorption under strong compression.