Bioinspired Design of Isotropic Lattices with Tunable and Controllable Anisotropy

This study presents novel nested isotropic lattices, drawing inspiration from bio‐architectures found in cortical bone osteons, golden spirals, and fractals. These lattices provide tunable anisotropy by integrating architectural elements like “nesting orders (NOs)” and corresponding “nesting orientations (NORs),” along with repetitive self‐similar X‐cross struts and three fourfold axes of symmetry, resulting in a wide spectrum of novel lattice designs. Nine mon‐onest and 20 multinest lattices, along with 252 parametric variations, are realized. Employing finite element‐based numerical homogenization, elastic stiffness tensors are estimated to evaluate the anisotropic measure—Zener ratio and elastic modulus. The mono‐nest lattices generated considering higher NOs and respective NORs exhibit a transition from shear dominant to tensile‐compression dominant (TCD) anisotropic behavior and their strut size variations show a strong influence on performances. In contrast, multinest lattices exhibit isotropic and neo‐isotropic characteristics, with strut size mismatch exerting more influence on the Zener ratio. Increasing NOs and NORs result in isotropic or TCD behavior for most multinest lattices, with strut size mismatch leading to many isotropic lattices. These bioinspired nested lattices, coupled with advancements in additive manufacturing, hold potential for diverse applications.