Design and strengthening of dual bio-inspired lattice structures based on additive manufacturing

Lattice structures are widely studied and applied due to their excellent energy absorption capabilities. This study drew inspiration from natural structures and started from the structural form. By utilizing dual bio-inspired characteristics from turtle shell support and honeycomb structure, a novel honeycomb hyperbolic bio-inspired strut (HHBS) structure was designed. Five fractal configurations were created by varying the strut angle, and their energy absorption capabilities and deformation modes were analyzed through numerical simulation and quasi-static compression experiment. The analysis results indicated that the 150°HHBS structure performed best. Based on this finding, the 150°HHBS structure was further strengthened by modifying part of the circular column struts into oblate column struts, enabling adjacent single cells within the lattice structure to form multi-cell structures through shared struts. This improvement minimized the increase in mass, resulting in a new honeycomb hyperbolic bio-inspired strut optimization (HHBSO) structure. The study results demonstrated that the HHBSO structure further improved the energy absorption capability of bio-inspired lattice structures. With the application and advancement of additive manufacturing technology, the manufacturing of dual bio-inspired lattice structures with high mechanical efficiency and lightweight characteristics is possible, which has significant implications for the research and development of energy absorption structures.