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

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 (F₈₏) F ip), mean crush force (F₌) F m), total absorbed energy (U), specific absorbed energy (SEA), and crushing force efficiency (CFE). It was found that the square infill pattern shows the maximum F₈₏ F ip, F₌ F m, 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.