Numerical and Experimental Evaluation of Structured Material for Use in Multi‐scale Topology Optimization

Multiscale topology optimization is a powerful tool for engineers seeking a design with minimum weight and maximum stiffness, using a structured material in the form of a lattice structure. Furthermore, the current trend is to combine multiple lattice topologies in one component to achieve the best possible response to local loading conditions while minimizing weight. Therefore, herein, a numerical and experimental evaluation by compression tests in two directions is performed for six basic lattice topologies and two hypotheses are tested. The first hypothesis states that an additional weight saving of more than 30% can be achieved by a better choice of lattice topology. The second hypothesis is based on the manufacturing limitations of the laser powder bed fusion technology and the assumption that a favorable loading direction parallel to the building direction exists. The first hypothesis is only confirmed for loading in the direction parallel to the building direction and the second only for two lattice topologies. When both hypotheses are combined, the additional weight reduction of the multiscale topology optimization result is 44.5% according to the numerical results and 32.7% according to the experimental verification.