Mechanical behaviour of AlSi10Mg lattice structures manufactured by the Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly Selective Laser Melting (SLM), has enabled design and production of complex metal lattice structures with specifically required properties, minimizing weight. The aim of this work is to provide insight into the influence of cell topology, cell size and beam diameter on deformation and failure behaviour of different SLM-manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy structures under static compressive loading. Design of experiment (DOE) analysis is performed to define geometrical features and dimensional characteristics of cell unit for specimen final configuration. A total of sixteen topological combinations was obtained, and forty-eight lattice specimens with three replicas for each cell type were manufactured with random order process to minimize manufacturing time variation and dependence. The full experimental testing results were analysed and compared in absolute terms and related to lattice density. Furthermore, a deep experimental microscopic analysis was conducted for a statistical analysis of representative beam diameters and real cell sizes for lattice samples. Additionally, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) inspection was employed to analyse the local morphology and to characterize material distribution and in particular to verify defect presence (such as porosity and superficial anomalies) that may affect the mechanical behaviour.