Design of 3D rotating triply periodic minimal surface (RotTPMS) lattice plates: Meanings of crystalline rotations and porosity

The mechanical properties of the triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattice structures are found to change according to rotating crystal directions. This anisotropy characteristic has been previously discovered yet not fully revealed. In this article, we propose a universal framework to bridge the existing gap and to design threedimensional rotating TPMS (RotTPMS) lattice structures. A novel crystalline rotation method, attributed as the core of this approach, shows ultra -high efficiency in investigating anisotropic materials; hence, optimizes the exploration process by reducing the number of rotation variables from three angles to two alternative angles. This approach not only enhances understanding but also simplifies the overall analysis, making it a powerful tool in the field of materials science and engineering. Additionally, this work concentrates on investigating the RotTPMS plate structure, which permits deep analyses of the rotation effectiveness with lower computational resources compared to fully simulated objects. Three typical TPMS types, which are Primitive, Gyroid, and I -graph and Wrapped Package -graph (IWP), are adopted in this structure with various loading schemes. The findings unveil the intricate relationship between rotating directions, in -plane rotations, relative densities, and plate boundary conditions. Varying the relative density slightly affects the optimal rotating direction but enlarges the performance difference due to the anisotropy's porosity dependence. The lower -than -unity anisotropy index of IWP structures exhibits a notable difference from other TPMSs regarding rotation directions. The fully clamped plate boundary condition improves the Primitive plate responses by 48.7%, as opposed to 31.1% of the simply supported one. In essence, this research represents a significant step toward resolving the anisotropic complexities of TPMS structures as well as cubic -symmetric materials. It provides the ability to tailor the design of advanced lightweight materials, and 3D -printed products together with a diverse range of mechanical properties and meet specific needs in multidisciplinary applications.