Design and Simulation of a Titanium Alloy Lattice Bone Plate for 3D Printing

Abstract

In order to improve the stress shielding effect caused by excessive elastic modulus of metal plates during fracture healing, a kind of 3D printing oriented lattice structure plate is designed based on topology optimization and the finite element modeling technology. A simplified finite element model of the titanium alloy tibial plate is established by using the finite element method. Combined with the finite element method and the data sampling method, the solid plate system and the lattice plate system are simulated, and the similarities and differences between their performances are compared. Based on the analysis of mechanical properties of lattice plate system, the lightweight design of the plate is realized and the stress shielding effect of the bone is improved. The results show that the weight of the lattice plate can be reduced by about 40% under the condition of guaranteed strength. The lattice plate is sensitive to the thickness. By reducing the thickness of the plate in a small range, the stiffness of the plate can be significantly reduced. The application of the lattice plate can effectively increase the average stress of the skeleton by about 4% and reduce the stress shielding effect of the skeleton. The simulated analysis results can provide references for the optimization design of low stress shielded plates.

Keywords

• 3d printing
• metal bone fracture plate
• stiffness
• stress shielding effect
• lattice structure
• finite element analysis