Parametric studies on vibration characteristics of triply periodic minimum surface sandwich lattice structures

Additive manufacturing has opened new avenues for the manufacturing of structures to achieve challenging engineering tasks. Gyroid, a unique example of such structures, exhibits many attractive properties, such as high stiffness-to-weight ratio and impact characteristics. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamic performance of gyroid structures made from HS188 using direct metal laser melting. The frequency response predictions of a finite element-based model of the gyroid sandwich structure were first validated against the modal testing in terms of its natural frequencies and mode shapes using the Dewesoft software. Subsequently, the effects of the plate and gyroid wall thickness on the dynamic characteristics of the structure were investigated by varying these across their expected limit ranges as part of a parametric study using the validated finite element model. The findings from the parametric study were validated against modal testing. Moreover, the performance of the aforementioned structure was compared with that of a solid structure with the same mass. The simulation results indicated that the dynamic characteristics of the gyroid structure can be improved considering the structure's frequency response by using parametric models. It was concluded that simulation and optimization tools will play a crucial role in additive manufacturing techniques to attain optimal mechanical properties of complex structures.