Generative design method for lattice structure with hollow struts of variable wall thickness

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technology can make products of arbitrary shapes, greatly expanding the design space of lattice structures. Compared with traditional solid lattice structures, the lattice structures with hollow struts have higher flexural strength, which arouses interests of designers recently. However, owing to the more complex shapes of structures, the model generation and design are facing more challenges. In this article, a novel generative design method for the creation of lattice structures with hollow struts is proposed. This method consists of three stages: initialization, analysis, and optimization. First of all, a ground structure is generated automatically based on initial conditions. Then, the finite element analysis is used to get the stress and coordinate information of finite element nodes as well as deformation information of the ground structure. At last, a rapid optimization method is presented based on the idea of mapping the strut equivalent stress to the strut wall thickness to optimize materials distribution. The proposed method is validated through a case study, demonstrating that this method can enhance performance of products while reducing the complexity of the optimization problem.

Generative Design and Integrated 3D Printing Manufacture of Cross Joints

“…Generative design is a hybridization of the design and optimization method, usually integrated into a computation-intensive machine learning algorithm executed on powerful cloud computing technology [ 13 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. This method integrates objective engineering requirements into subjective design, and through the paradigm of simulating natural growth and evolution, unlimited new viable design schemes can be created in a comparatively short time [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ].…”

Overview of Methods and Software for the Design of Functionally Graded Lattice Structures

“…Following are two examples of research using GD in the study of lattice structures. Wang et al [160] used GD to explore different wall thicknesses of a hollow truss-based lattice, aiming to reduce the complexity of the optimization problem. Dawei et al [161] developed a GD algorithm combining a triply periodic surface-based graded lattice structure modeling method with structure optimization to optimize parts for AM, making it damage tolerant.…”

A discretization method for predicting the equivalent elastic parameters of the graded lattice structure

“…The cellular member size of each layer is calculated according to formulas (11). According to formulas (9) in Section 3.2, the equivalent elastic parameters of the graded lattice structure can be calculated from the equivalent elastic parameters of uniform lattice structures.…”

“…9 according to the material distribution. With the deepening of the research, the configuration mode, 10,11 distribution characteristics, 12 equivalent elastic properties 13,14 of the cellular materials and related research methods are gradually studied. 15,16 In order to further explore the performance advantages of cellular materials, people's focus has been extended from uniform lattice structures to nonuniform lattice structures such as graded lattice and variable-density lattice, 17 and the performance of cellular materials has expanded from structural lightweight to multi-functional characteristics, such as vibration resistance, shock resistance, heat and heat transfer, sound absorption and noise reduction, and zero/ negative thermal expansion, ect.…”

“…9 according to the material distribution. With the deepening of the research, the configuration mode, 10,11 distribution characteristics, 12 equivalent elastic properties 13,14 of the cellular materials and related research methods are gradually studied. 15,16…”