Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering

The availability of additive manufacturing technologies in particular the selective laser sintering process has enabled the fabrication of high strength, lightweight and complex cellular lattice structures. In this study, the effective mechanical properties of selective laser sintering produced peri...

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Main Authors: Sun, Wei, Choo, Hui Leng
Format: Article
Published: SAGE 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41118/
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author Sun, Wei
Choo, Hui Leng
author_facet Sun, Wei
Choo, Hui Leng
author_sort Sun, Wei
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The availability of additive manufacturing technologies in particular the selective laser sintering process has enabled the fabrication of high strength, lightweight and complex cellular lattice structures. In this study, the effective mechanical properties of selective laser sintering produced periodic lattice structures were investigated. Three different types of lattice structures were designed by repeating three types of open-form unit cells consisting of triangular prism, square prism and hexagonal prism. A novel approach of creating the complex and conformable lattice structures using traditional modelling software such as Creo® proposed by the authors was used. Based on the predesigned lattice structures, finite element analysis was carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of these structures. For the experimental study, nylon samples were printed using a plastic selective laser sintering system and tested using a universal testing machine. Finite element analysis results show that lattice structures with triangular prism perform better than the other two prisms in terms of Young’s modulus to relative density ratio. Tensile tests results show good conformance with the results obtained from finite element analysis.
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publishDate 2017
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spelling nottingham-411182020-05-04T18:28:30Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41118/ Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering Sun, Wei Choo, Hui Leng The availability of additive manufacturing technologies in particular the selective laser sintering process has enabled the fabrication of high strength, lightweight and complex cellular lattice structures. In this study, the effective mechanical properties of selective laser sintering produced periodic lattice structures were investigated. Three different types of lattice structures were designed by repeating three types of open-form unit cells consisting of triangular prism, square prism and hexagonal prism. A novel approach of creating the complex and conformable lattice structures using traditional modelling software such as Creo® proposed by the authors was used. Based on the predesigned lattice structures, finite element analysis was carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of these structures. For the experimental study, nylon samples were printed using a plastic selective laser sintering system and tested using a universal testing machine. Finite element analysis results show that lattice structures with triangular prism perform better than the other two prisms in terms of Young’s modulus to relative density ratio. Tensile tests results show good conformance with the results obtained from finite element analysis. SAGE 2017-02-01 Article PeerReviewed Sun, Wei and Choo, Hui Leng (2017) Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L: Journal of Materials: Design and Applications, 231 (1-2). pp. 171-178. ISSN 2041-3076 Lattice structure unit cell additive manufacturing selective laser sintering mechanical properties http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1464420716662296 doi:10.1177/1464420716662296 doi:10.1177/1464420716662296
spellingShingle Lattice structure
unit cell
additive manufacturing
selective laser sintering
mechanical properties
Sun, Wei
Choo, Hui Leng
Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
title Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
title_full Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
title_fullStr Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
title_full_unstemmed Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
title_short Finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
title_sort finite element analysis and experimental study of plastic lattice structures manufactured by selective laser sintering
topic Lattice structure
unit cell
additive manufacturing
selective laser sintering
mechanical properties
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41118/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41118/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41118/