Mechanical Characterisation and Simulation of the Tensile Behaviour of Polymeric Additively Manufactured Lattice Structures

Abstract

Background The mechanical properties of lattice structures have been primarily investigated using uniaxial compression loads. Particularly for polymers, tensile properties are rarely considered because of the difficulties of defining a suitable specimen design in which the fracture occurs within the gauge length. Objective This work proposes a novel formulation to obtain a specimen for the tensile test with a gradation of the lattice density at the interface with the bulk portion, which realises a uniform stress distribution. The aim is to combine a localisation of the fracture in the gauge length with a specimen geometry accomplishing the EN ISO 527 standard and analyse the correlation between the mechanical performance and the defects induced by the process on such thin structures. Methods The formulation is experimentally and numerically (FEM) tested by designed specimens with different cell topology, cell size, strut diameter, and number of cells in the sample thickness. Also, results from uniaxial compression tests are used to validate the tensile properties. The specimens are manufactured in different orientations in the building volume by laser powder bed fusion with Polyamide 12. The effects of the pores morphology, distribution, and inherent anisotropy are investigated using X-ray computed tomography analysis. This data is also used to tune a numerical model. Results The numerical analysis showed a uniform stress distribution; experimentally, the fracture is localised inside the gauge length in respect of the ISO standard. Remarkably, among the different strut-based architectures, the elongation at break is, in the best case, 50% of the corresponding bulk material, while the tensile strengths are comparable. Vertical printed specimens exhibited a slight decrease in tensile strength, and the elongation at break was lower than 50% compared to the counterparts built along the horizontal orientation. Modifying the numerical model according to process-related dimensional deviations between the actual and the nominal structures significantly improved the numerical results. The remaining deviation highlighted the incorrectness of modelling the lattice material from the bulk properties. Conclusion Density gradation is a reliable approach for describing the tensile behaviour of polymeric lattice structures. However, the lower amount of porosity and the different shape in the lattice led to a different material mechanical performance with respect to the corresponding bulk counterpart. Therefore, for polymeric lattice structures, the relationship between process-design-material appears crucial for correctly representing the structure behaviour.