Influence of manufacturing factors on compressive behavior of soft architected composite with a 3D-printed cellular core

Soft material is widely used for energy dissipation in a diverse range of applications from shoe soles to bridge bearings. Recent advances in additive manufacturing enable more new classes of materials such as soft architected composites (SAC) with 3D-printed cores that are embedded into a soft matrix. SAC has demonstrated excellent load-carrying capacity, ductility, and energy absorption under compression compared to soft material alone, but the influence of key manufacturing factors remains unknown. In this work, we conducted experimental investigations on SAC specimens considering various manufacturing parameters, including the printing materials, volume fraction, filling pattern, and printing parameters. Notably, the SAC with the gyroid filling pattern demonstrates superior specific stiffness and specific energy absorption. The effect of the printing parameters on the SAC was non-linear, and the optimal values were influenced by the core geometries. The SAC unit filled with gyroid pattern and manufactured using optimized printing parameters exhibited significant improvement in specific stiffness and specific energy absorption over those with the same mass of reinforcing phase. These results can guide the further design of similar architected composite by considering the appropriate selection of manufacturing parameters and geometric designs. With the improved mechanical properties, the concept of SAC can be further used in developing lightweight and high-performing energy absorption and dissipation components and devices.