Mechanical properties of a novel two-phase hybrid plate-lattice metamaterial

Lattices were lightweight load-bearing and energy absorption structures, while the traditional designs with a periodic arrangement of single-type cells restricted the design domains. In this work, novel two-phase hybrid strategies based on different types and numbers of thin-plate cubic cells were proposed, and quasi-static compression experiments and finite element numerical simulations were performed to investigate their energy absorption characteristics and deformation mechanisms. The effects of the relative density and load direction on the compression responses were also explored. The results showed that SC-BCC lattices exhibited higher specific energy absorption than conventional lattices and other practical metamaterials, and changing the number and arrangement of cells of the hybrid structures achieved better mechanical properties in a specific loading direction. The specific energy absorption capacity of the hybrid plate-lattice can be up to 4.30 J/g in the present work, which is higher than the SEA capacity of conventional aluminum lattice and TPU truss lattice structure. These findings provided a novel structural design strategy for fabricating the plate-lattice architectures in conjunction with additive manufacturing.