Collapse Behavior and Energy Absorbing Characteristics of 3D-Printed Tubes with Different Infill Pattern Structures: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Abstract This work investigates the impact of infill pattern structure on the crashworthy performance and deformation history of 3D-printed tubes subjected to a quasi-static axial compression load. The proposed tubes were made from polylactic acid (PLA) using a 3D printing technique. Five infill pattern structures were adapted, i.e. circular, square, triangle, zigzag and cross patterns with 50% infill density. The crashworthy analysis was carried out by assessing different indicators, i.e. peak force ( $${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{ip}})$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>ip</mml:mi> </mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , mean crush force ( $${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{m}})$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>m</mml:mi> </mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , total absorbed energy (U), specific absorbed energy (SEA), and crushing force efficiency (CFE). It was found that the square infill pattern shows the maximum $${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{ip}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>ip</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:math> , $${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{m}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>m</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:math> , U and SEA with values of (24.38 kN, 20.58 kN, 673.38 kJ, and 26.52) while zigzag infill pattern shows the highest CFE with a value of 0.91. The optimal infill pattern is determined using a Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) method called Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS). The COPRAS results showed that the square infill pattern is the most effective energy absorbing structure.

Topics & Concepts