Imperfection-Enabled Strengthening of Ultra-Lightweight Lattice Materials

Lattice materials are an emerging family of advanced engineering materials with unique advantages for lightweight applications. However, the mechanical behaviors of lattice materials at ultra-low relative densities are still not well understood, and this severely limits their lightweighting potential. Here, a high-precision micro-laser powder bed fusion technique is dveloped that enables the fabrication of metallic lattices with a relative density range much wider than existing studies. This technique allows to confirm that cubic lattices in compression undergo a yielding-to-buckling failure mode transition at low relative densities, and this transition fundamentally changes the usual strength ranking from plate > shell > truss at high relative densities to shell > plate > truss or shell > truss > plate at low relative densities. More importantly, it is shown that increasing bending energy ratio in the lattice through imperfections such as slightly-corrugated geometries can significantly enhance the stability and strength of lattice materials at ultra-low relative densities. This counterintuitive result suggests a new way for designing ultra-lightweight lattice materials at ultra-low relative densities.