Stiffness and energy absorption of additive manufactured hybrid lattice structures

Abstract

Lattice structures have been widely used for lightweight structures and energy absorption applications, yet there remain persistent challenges to develop high-performance lattice structures. Existing lattice structures are mainly made by uniform or graded units, some work has been focused on the hybrid lattice structures that combine two or more different units. In this work, two hybrid lattice block structures, named GO_embeded and GO_enfolded, were designed based on two kinds of basic unit cells (Grid unit and Octet unit) and then additively manufactured, and their performances of stiffness and energy absorption were studied. The results show that the stiffness of the hybrid lattice blocks could be comparable to the uniform lattice blocks when they have the same relative density. However, the hybrid lattice blocks have better energy absorption capability relative to uniform lattice blocks. This study provides a basis for the performance of hybrid lightweight structure.

Keywords

• lattice structure
• hybrid lattice
• lightweight
• metal