Numerical Analysis of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Lattice Structures Under Tensile Load

Owing to the challenging definition of an appropriate specimen design, the mechanical properties of lattice structures under tensile loads have rarely been investigated. Finite element analysis (FEA) may be used to analyze the deformation mechanisms and optimize the specimen design. In this work, a FEA is carried out on an ad-hoc designed specimen so that the fracture of the lattice specimen under tensile load is localized within the gauge length. The specimen is designed according to EN ISO 527 standard, in which the gauge length is replaced with a strut-based lattice structure. In addition, the lattice density is graded to control the stress distribution. The numerical analysis is experimentally validated using polymeric specimens produced by additive manufacturing (AM). The numerical result shows a deviation due to the geometrical specimen deviation produced by the AM process that, if compensated, enhanced the model's capability to forecast the lattice structure's mechanical behavior.