Energy absorption response of functionally graded 3D printed continuous fiber reinforced composite cellular structures: Experimental and numerical approaches

This study provides an experimental and numerical evaluation of a quasi-static compressive loading on a sinusoidal cellular structure with a novel design made from glass fiber-reinforced polylactic acid in the horizontal and vertical directions. The study further investigates the energy absorption capacity of three sinusoidal cellular structures with low wavelengths, high wavelengths, and functional gradient geometries. As an additive manufacturing process, Fused Deposition Modeling was used to prepare the specimens. The modeling of sinusoidal cellular structure subjected to compressive loading was performed by defining the mechanical properties and the failure model with a functional gradient using the VUSDFLD subroutine. The results revealed a good agreement between numerical and experimental results. In the vertical direction, high wavelength and functional gradient sinusoidal cellular structures exhibited superior performance in energy absorption compared to low sinusoidal cellular structures. Furthermore, low wavelength and functional gradient sinusoidal cellular structures outperformed high sinusoidal cellular structures in energy absorption in the horizontal direction.