Design and analysis of multiple bio-inspired aperiodic lattice structures by laser powder bed fusion

• Three multiple bio-inspired single cell structure designs with distinct mechanical properties are proposed. • Altering the arrangement of single cells within the lattice structure could enhance energy absorption capacity and deformation stability. • An aperiodic five-layer lattice structure with sandglass deformation behavior is proposed. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) fabricated lattice structures are widely used as energy absorbers due to their lightweight and porous nature. To develop a bio-inspired lattice structure that enhances energy absorption capacity while achieving controllable deformation direction. Three bio-inspired single cells—HHDS, HHLHS and HHRHS, were designed with bamboo and honeycomb outer contours. Internally, HHDS integrated plant cell wall double-shell features, while HHLHS/HHRHS incorporated whelk helical morphology. Four three-layer lattice structures were fabricated via LPBF. Quasi-static tests and simulations showed HHDS cells exhibited superior load-bearing capacity, while digital image correlation (DIC) confirmed HHLHS/HHRHS cells enabled pre-folding for compression direction control. Further studies on five types of five-layer lattice structures investigated the impact of single cell arrangements on lattice structure performance. Results indicated that different arrangement combinations produced varied deformation behaviors, and changes in the number and proportion of single cells altered the loading capacity of the lattice structures. A five-layer bio-inspired aperiodic lattice structure with sandglass deformation behavior was proposed. It enhanced compression stability and the specific energy absorption ( SEA ) of the proposed structure reached 22.317 kJ/kg, demonstrating superior crashworthiness. This study is of great significance to improve the performance of the lattice structure.