The Effect of Vertical Strut in Circular Arch Lattice Structure by Selective Laser Sintering for Lightweight Structure

The sandwich structure, consisting of a core and a face sheet, is used for lightweight structural application. Generally, cellular structures like honeycomb, foam, and lattice structures are utilized for the core. Among these, lattice structures have several advantages over other types of structures. In other studies, curved lattice structures were reported to have higher mechanical properties than straight structures by converting shear stresses acting on the structure into compressive stresses. Moreover, the addition of vertical struts can have a positive effect on the mechanical properties of the lattice structure. For the purpose, two lattice structures with Circle Arch (CC) and Circular Arch with a vertical column (CC_C) were studied, which were fabricated by using selective laser sintering was conducted. The result showed that CC_C has dramatic performance improvements in specific strength, modulus, and strain energy density compared to CC, confirming that vertical struts played a significant role in the lattice core. Finite element analysis was employed to determine the cause of the stress behavior of CC and CC_C. This study is expected to help design structurally superior lattice cores and sandwich structures.