Effect of residual stress on mechanical properties of Triply periodic minimal surface lattice structures in Additive manufacturing

Due to its special porous structure with smooth continuous surface and high specific surface area, the triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattice structure exhibits excellent properties such as strong bearing capacity, high energy absorption rate and good fatigue performance. The residual stresses generated during the additive manufacturing (AM) process can have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the TPMS structure. In this paper, the AM process of four typical TPMS structures are investigated by the thermal–mechanical coupling model. The mechanism of residual stress generation is analyzed, and an optimized preparation process scheme is proposed to reduce the residual stress. Furthermore, the effects of residual stresses on the mechanical properties of TPMS structures are investigated for different types, volume fractions and compression directions. Results show that the influences of scanning speed and hatch spacing on the residual stress are not significant with constant laser power, but the deposition thickness should be adjusted according to the characteristics of the structure. The residual stress will reduce the elastic modulus and yield strength, while no obvious effect on the plastic behavior is observed. Importantly, the residual stress has the greatest influence on the mechanical properties of I-WP-type among the four investigated types, which becomes more pronounced with the increase of volume fraction. Moreover, the influence of residual stress on the mechanical properties of TPMS structures depends on the compression direction. Our results give a comprehensive understanding of the residual stress distribution and impact on the mechanical properties of TPMS structures, providing guidance to the rational design and optimization of TPMS structures in engineering applications.