Enhanced Flexural Performance of Diamond Latticed Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Sandwich Panels

The additively manufactured bio‐inspired lattice structures have various superior properties in comparison to their solid counterparts as they are lightweight and suitable for fabricating various parts in aerospace sectors. This study limits the investigation of triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS)‐based diamond sheet and solid cellular structures with varying densities (25%, 35%, 45%, and graded) under flexural loading conditions. The sandwich panel structures are made using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material utilizing the fused filament fabrication (FFF) process. In‐plane flexural performances of the FFF fabricated bio‐inspired TPMS diamond sandwich panels are investigated for the first time. The panels are created to investigate how density and unit cell geometry affect stiffness, strength, and energy absorption. The digital image correlation approach is used to visualize the deflection of the panels subjected to three‐point bending. Also, a theoretical analysis is done to find out the deflection of the sandwich panel structures. An Ashby chart shows the comparison of the specific energy absorption of the TPMS diamond sandwich panels used in this study with several other cellular core sandwich panels available in the literature. This study provides a valuable contribution to the improved energy absorption performance of additively manufactured cellular materials.