The Mechanical Performance of Additive Manufactured Silica Lattice Structures

The current study investigates the performance of Additive Manufactured (AM) silica (SiO₂) scaffolds using advanced lattice designs. In particular, six specific lattice design structures based on Strut-Lattice Structures and on Triply Periodic Minimal Structures (TPMS) were additively manufactured by utilising the Stereolithography method. Initially, the mechanical and morphological behaviour of solid 3D printed specimens was studied using characterization techniques, such as instrumented nanoindentation and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to understand the material behaviour. Then, the AM complex lattice structures were tested under a quasi-static uniaxial compression loading in order to reveal their mechanical response, which is depended on their relative density and also to deduce the stress strain response. The results have shown that all structures presented extensive degradation in mechanical behaviour due to the influence of scaling laws and the existing porosity in the structure originated from the manufacturing procedure. However, strut-structures exhibited more severe deterioration in their mechanical properties compared with TPMS structures. This mechanical study of AM ceramic lattice structures is an essential step prior to further exploration and research of the ceramic 3D printed lattice scaffolds in tissue engineering.