Biodegradable 3D printed polylactic acid structures for different engineering applications: effect of infill pattern and density

This study examines how the infill configuration and density can affect the crashworthiness and crash history of 3D-printed configurations exposed to quasi-static axial loading. Polylactic acid (PLA) was used to create the planned structures through a 3D printing process. With 30, 50, and 70% infill density, three infill configurations, i.e., circular, square, and triangle, were prepared. Different crash indicators, containing initial peak force ( F ip ) , overall absorbed energy (U), mean crashing load ( F m ) , crash force efficiency (CFE), and specific energy absorption (SEA), were evaluated, as well as the crash history of the designed pipes. Results indicated that both the infill configuration and density have substantial impacts on the crashworthiness of 3D-printed structures. Therefore, the S70 pipe shows the maximum F ip , U , F m , and SEA with values of 33.52 kN, 1095.08 J, 30.42 kN, and 31.10 J/g, respectively. Whereas the maximum CFE was recorded for C70 pipe with a value of 1.16.