Design and analysis of biomimetic nested lattice structures based on additive manufacturing

There are various hierarchical structures in nature, such as the double-layer wings of a dragonfly, which possess enhanced mechanical properties while also being lightweight. Inspired by the double-layer wings of the dragonfly, this paper adopts bionics and novel hierarchical design concepts to design a single-layer hexagonal crystal lattice SFCC and two double-layer hexagonal crystal lattices DFCC and RFCC. Using the selective laser melting technology (SLM) in additive manufacturing (AM), the AlSi10Mg powder is melted and formed. The mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of these three lattice structures were systematically studied through numerical simulation and compression tests. The strains of them were observed using DIC deformation diagrams. Studies have shown that compared with SFCC, DFCC has a significantly better resistance to deformation in the compressed internal structure. Its EA and SEA have been significantly improved, and it has the optimal overall mechanical properties, verifying the effectiveness of the nested structure. Finally, the mechanical properties of five different diameter ratios of unit cells of DFCC were discussed. Among them, the unit cell with an outer-inner diameter ratio of 1:2 had the best SEA effect. In conclusion, this work provides new ideas for the design of bionic nested lattice structures.