Prediction of the Elastic Response of TPMS Cellular Lattice Structures Using Finite Element Method

Cellular lattice structures are a group of porous materials in which the cells are regularly distributed. Since the morphology of the cells is complicated, the fabrication of them is challenging using conventional methods. However, with the advent of additive manufacturing technology, more attention is focused on these classes of materials because the regular geometry makes it possible to tailor the mechanical response of the structure. Among all kinds of cellular lattice structures, those based on triply periodic minimal surfaces are of great importance due to mechanical and biological properties. Since the fabrication of such structures is challenging and expensive, it is desirable to predict their mechanical response before fabrication. In this paper, finite element approach is employed to predict the elastic response of two well-known Schwarz minimal surfaces named P-Type and G-Type. To do so, first, the cloud points of the surfaces are generated using the implicit equation of the surface and are converted into solid finite element models. The results show that at the same value of porosity, the P-Type specimen provides a higher value of elastic modulus than G-Type one.