Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) porous structures: from multi-scale design, precise additive manufacturing to multidisciplinary applications

Abstract

Inspired by natural porous architectures, numerous attempts have been made to generate porous structures. Owing to the smooth surfaces, highly interconnected porous architectures, and mathematical controllable geometry features, triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) is emerging as an outstanding solution to constructing porous structures in recent years. However, many advantages of TPMS are not fully utilized in current research. Critical problems of the process from design, manufacturing to applications need further systematic and integrated discussions. In this work, a comprehensive overview of TPMS porous structures is provided. In order to generate the digital models of TPMS, the geometry design algorithms and performance control strategies are introduced according to diverse requirements. Based on that, precise additive manufacturing methods are summarized for fabricating physical TPMS products. Furthermore, actual multidisciplinary applications are presented to clarify the advantages and further potential of TPMS porous structures. Eventually, the existing problems and further research outlooks are discussed.

Additive Manufacturing of Intertwined Electrode Pairs ‐ Guided Mass Transport with Gyroids

“…In accordance to our recent findings that the mass transport at the electrode may need to be enhanced by a predominantly convective flow regime, [ 21 ] convective channels were implemented in the solid body of design G10 (G10C, Figure 1c). These convective channels are formed by a second‐level gyroid structure, [ 33 ] which is placed into the solid volume of G10.…”

A Hybrid Level Set Method for the Topology Optimization of Functionally Graded Structures

“…The lower-dimensional contour is actually the 3D structural boundary of a specific cellular structure. Figure 1 illustrates the implicit level set representation of the I-Wrapped Package (IWP) TPMS [38]. A parametric cellular structure with varying geometrical shape and volume fractions can be obtained by taking different contours.…”

The Influence of the Structure Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of Cylindrically Mapped Gyroid TPMS Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting with 316L Stainless Steel Powder

“…The TPMS are naturally inspired structures with periodically, infinite continuous non-self-intersecting surfaces with zero mean curvature in three independent directions. Porous architectures with the TPMS topology are constructed by repeating elements, so-called unit cells [4][5][6]. The main advantages of TPMS-type structures are elimination of the effect stress concentration at nodal points due to the continued curvature of the cells walls [7], relatively large surface area, continuous internal channels [4], and self-supported architecture [8].…”

“…This type of structure has also been referred to as "shell", "sheet", "strut", or "cellular" in the literature. The t parameter in Equation ( 9) determines the volume fractions pertaining to the regions separated by surface [6,8,30,38].…”