Energy dissipation of 3D-printed TPMS lattices under cyclic loading

• Cyclic loading behaviors of four TPMS lattices are thoroughly investigated. • D and I-WP have best deformation recovery and energy dissipation, respectively. • Low relative density lattices show stronger shape recovery. • High relative density lattices show better energy dissipation. Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) lattice structures have been widely studied for their uniform stress distribution and excellent energy absorption characteristics. However, limited studies have focused on the energy dissipation of TPMS lattices under cyclic loading. In this study, the energy dissipation and deformation recoverability of four TPMS lattices under cyclic loading were tested, e.g. the Primitive (P), Gyroid (G), Diamond (D), and I-Wrapped Package (I-WP) lattices. These four TPMS lattices were fabricated using thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) by fused deposition modeling (FDM). The energy dissipation and deformation recoverability of different compressive strains, resting time, architectures, and relative densities of four TPMS configurations were also investigated. The results indicated that all four TPMS lattices can withstand >20 consecutive cycles of loading, and their specific energy dissipation and deformation recovery ratio were demonstrated to remain at a stable level (about 30 % and 90 % of the initial one, respectively), even under large compressive strains. When considering the resting time for two cycles, with an increase in resting time, the specific energy dissipation of the P lattice remained above 65 % of the initial one, and the deformation recovery became more pronounced. Among the four TPMS configurations, the D lattice has the strongest energy dissipation capability due to its excellent stress-carrying ability, while the I-WP lattice has the strongest deformation recoverability due to its uniform strain distribution. And the deformation recoverability and energy dissipation capability of four TPMS lattices are stronger than those of the solid material. More importantly, it was found that the TPMS lattices with a low relative density exhibited a stronger deformation recoverability, while those with a high relative density gained a stronger energy dissipation capability.