Mechanical behaviour of a novel 3D-printed cubic cellular structures under bending loads: an experimental and numerical analysis

Abstract

This research presents a novel 3D-printed cubic cellular structure fabricated using fused deposition modelling (FDM) with a no-infill technique. It reports on both experimental and numerical analyses of these cubic cellular structures, examining configurations with 1, 2, 3, and 4 cell layers subjected to 3-point loading. The experimental results suggest that there is a correlation between the number of cell layers and the structural response under bending. A distinct transition in mechanical behaviour is observed from the 2-cell to the 4-cell structures, characterised by a linear trend, with a notable reduction in the amount of deflection as the number of cell layers increases. Meanwhile, the 1-cell layer structure exhibits a bending-dominant deformation. The results of the finite element model clarify the influence of the strut diameter and the number of cell layers on the bending behaviour, aligning well with the experimental findings. Overall, the 1-cell layer structures demonstrate bending dominance, whilst the 3- and 4-cell layer structures exhibit linear dominance. The 2-cell configuration uniquely combines both bending and linear behaviours.