Multiaxial static strength of a 3D printed metallic lattice structure exhibiting brittle behavior

This paper focuses on numerical the prediction of multiaxial static strength of lattice structures. We analyze a body‐centered cubic cell printed with Selective Laser Melting in AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy. Parent material is experimentally characterized, and the Gurson‐Tveergard‐Needleman (GTN) damage model is calibrated to predict failure in numerical simulations. The GTN model is used to predict failure of the lattice structures exhibiting brittle localized fracture, and it is validated through static tests. The results of experimental tension/compression monotonic tests on lattice samples are compared with the results of numerical simulations performed on as‐built geometry reconstructed by X‐ray computed tomography, showing a good correlation. Combining the damage model with computational micromechanics, multiaxial loading conditions are simulated to investigate the effective multiaxial strength of the lattice material. Yielding and failure loci are found by fitting a batch of points obtained by some multiaxial loading simulations. A formulation based on the criterion proposed by Tsai and Wu (1971) for anisotropic materials provides a good description of yielding and failure behavior under multiaxial load. Results are discussed, with a specific focus on the effect of as‐built defects on multiaxial strength, by comparing the resistance domains of as‐manufactured and as‐designed lattices.