Homogenized Properties Of Periodic Lattice Materials

Abstract

The use of lattice structure is remarkable in many industries due to its lightweight but stiff property. The complex topology of these structures can be fabricated by additive manufacturing. While using Lattice materials, it is important to choose the most efficient lattice material according to the structural situation. Structural analysis processes must be completed to understand the structural properties of lattice materials. In this paper, structural properties of many types of lattice materials are compared by taking into account their effective mechanical properties and anisotropy ratios. However, structural analysis of lattice materials is difficult in terms of computational cost and mathematical modeling because they are very complex structures. Instead of modeling complex structures, numerical homogenization method is used. The homogenization method is a method based on making an approximation of the mechanical properties of lattice materials with a solid material by modeling with representative volume elements. In this paper, periodic lattice materials with cubic symmetry are represented by numerical homogenization method and the obtained Young’s modulus, shear modulus and Zener ratios are compared and interpreted to select the lattice type which gives best performance and lowest anisotropy.