A fully integrated parametric design and material modeling framework for DMLS-manufactured AlSi10Mg lattice aerospace structures

This study presents a fully integrated parametric framework for the design, optimization, and numerical assessment of AlSi10Mg lattice structures manufactured via Direct Metal Laser Sintering. Developed within the Rhinoceros–Grasshopper environment and natively interfaced with Abaqus, the proposed tool enables the automated generation of lattice domains, the assignment of advanced constitutive models, and the execution of finite element simulations under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. The framework incorporates a dual material modeling strategy: the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) porous plasticity model for implicit analyses and the Johnson–Cook (JC) constitutive and damage model for explicit dynamic simulations, both calibrated using experimentally validated datasets for additively manufactured AlSi10Mg. The predictive capability of the framework is assessed through the replication of two benchmark experimental–numerical studies available in the literature. Quasi-static compression of BCC microlattice sandwich structures is reproduced using a GTN-based implicit formulation, showing good agreement with experimental stress–strain responses up to the onset of post-peak softening, while capturing shear-band formation and progressive node collapse. Dynamic compression of lattice-reinforced tubes is simulated using a JC-based explicit approach, showing strong correspondence with experimental deformation modes and force–displacement curves up to approximately 20–25 mm displacement, beyond which post-densification loads are underestimated. The results demonstrate the robustness and reliability of the proposed integrated CAD–CAE workflow, establishing LatticeGEN–DMLS as a computational platform for performance-driven design of DMLS-manufactured lattice structures in lightweight engineering applications.