Investigation of the Specific Energy Absorption of Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces Subjected to Impact Loading

Triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) have attracted tremendous research interest due to their lightweight and superior mechanical properties. In this study, two TPMS sheet-based structures (FRD and Neovius) are designed, fabricated, and tested under dynamic and quasistatic loading conditions. Selective laser melting (SLM) is employed to facilitate the fabrication of such complex structures out of stainless steel (SS316L). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is utilized to assess the quality of the printed structures. The dynamic compressive behaviour is investigated through performing a direct impact compression test via a Direct Impact Hopkinson Bar (DIHB) at a strain rate of 2000 s-1 . Quasi-static tests are also performed at a strain rate of 0.005 s-1 . The specific energy absorption (SEA) is compared under both loading conditions to investigate the performance of such structures under dynamic loading. Results show that both structures exhibit higher SEA values under high deformation rates. In fact, Neovius structures outperform FRD structures in terms of specific energy absorption as it exhibits a SEA value of 22.11 J/g and 24.8 J/g SEA in quasi-static and dynamic conditions, respectively.