Hydrodynamic drag testing was conducted for eleven different configurations of IsoTruss® lattice structures. Flow visualization of prototypical IsoTruss® wind towers was also performed using Particle Image Velocimetry instrumentation. The drag test and flow visualization specimens included 6-node and 8-node configurations, single and double-grid geometries, thick and thin member sizes, smooth and rough surface finishes, a helical-only structure, and a smaller outer diameter test specimen. Three sets of hydrodynamic drag tests were conducted in a closed-circuit water tunnel: 1) orientation drag tests, 2) water velocity drag tests, and 3) height variation drag tests. The orientation drag tests measured the hydrodynamic drag force of the IsoTruss® test specimens at five different orientations with an average water velocity of 1.43 mph (0.64 m/s). The water velocity drag tests measured the maximum drag for each IsoTruss® test specimen at water velocities ranging from 0.0 to an average 1.43 mph (0.64 m/s). Based on the average outer structure diameter of the IsoTruss® specimens, the water velocities corresponded to a Reynolds number range of 7,000 to 80,000. Based on the average member diameter, the corresponding Reynolds number spanned from 600 to 3,000. In addition, the height variation drag tests were performed by vertically extracting the IsoTruss® test specimens from the test section at four different immersed height levels, with a maximum immersed height of 7.22 in (18.1 cm). The height variation testing corresponded to a Froude number range of 0.40 to 0.90. The IsoTruss® specimens exhibited an average lower drag coefficient based on the projected cylindrical area than the smooth circular cylinder data throughout the Reynolds number and Froude number ranges. The drag coefficient based on solid member area showed no correlation when shown as a function of the solidity ratio. However, for the drag coefficient calculated from the solid member projected area, the data for all IsoTruss® test specimens collapsed to a 2nd order polynomial when presented as a function of the Froude number, with an R2 of 0.99. Conversely, no significant relationship was shown when the drag coefficient based on projected cylindrical area was plotted versus the Froude number. The hydrodynamic data was compared to aerodynamic data, and the orientation testing results were identical. The hydrodynamic data differed by an average of 17% compared to the non-dimensional aerodynamic results. The flow visualization research revealed that the velocity returned to 2% of the freestream velocity at 1.24 diameters upstream from the prototypical IsoTruss® wind tower. Likewise, the velocity returned to a maximum 4% of the freestream velocity at 0.94 diameters sidestream of the model IsoTruss® wind tower.

<p>Composite materials have been invented and used to make all kinds of industrial products, such as automobiles, aircraft, sports equipment etc., for many years. Excellent properties such as high specific stiffness and strength have been recognized and studied for decades, motivating the use of composite materials. However, the design of composite structures still remains a challenge. Existing design tools are not adequate to exploit the full benefits of composites. Many tools are still based on the traditional material selection paradigm created for isotropic homogeneous materials, separated from the shape design. This will lose the coupling effects between composite materials and the geometry and lead to less optimum design of the structure. Hence, due to heterogeneity and anisotropy inherent in composites, it is necessary to model composite parts with appropriate microstructures  instead of simplistically replacing composites as black aluminum and consider materials and geometry at the same time.</p> <p><br></p> <p>This work mainly focuses on the design problems of complex material-structural systems through computational analyses. Complex material-structural systems are structures made of materials that have microstructures smaller than the overall structural dimension but still obeying the continuum assumption, such as fiber reinforced laminates, sandwich structures, and meta-materials, to name a few. This work aims to propose a new design-by-analysis framework based on the mechanics of structure genome (MSG), because of its capability in accurate and efficient predictions of effective properties  for different solid/structural models and three-dimensional local fields (stresses, strains, failure status, etc). The main task is to implement the proposed framework by developing new tools and integrating these tools into a complete design toolkit. The main contribution of this work is a new efficient high-fidelity design-by-analysis framework for complex material-structural systems.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The proposed design framework contains the following components. 1) MSG and its companion code SwiftComp is the theoretical foundation for structural analysis in this design framework. This is used to model the complex details of the composite structures. This approach provides engineers the flexibility to use different multiscale modeling strategies. 2) Structure Gene (SG) builder creates finite element-based model inputs for SwiftComp using design parameters defining the structure. This helps designers deal with realistic and meaningful engineering parameters directly without expert knowledge of finite element analysis. 3) Interface is developed using Python for easy access to needed data such as structural properties and failure status. This is used as the integrator linking all components and/or other tools outside this framework. 4) Design optimization methods and iteration controller are used for conducting the actual design studies such as parametric study, optimization, surrogate modeling, and uncertainty quantification. This is achieved by integrating Dakota into this framework. 5) Structural analysis tool is used for  computing global structural responses. This is used if an integrated MSG-based global analysis process is needed.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Several realistic design problems of composite structures are used to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed framework. Parameter study of a simple fiber reinforce laminated structure is carried out for investigating the following: comparing with traditional design-by-analysis approaches, whether the new approach can bring new understandings on parameter-response relations and because of new parameterization methods and more accurate analysis results. A realistic helicopter rotor blade is used to demonstrate the optimization capability of this framework. The geometry and material of composite rotor blades are optimized to reach desired structural performance. The rotor blade is also used to show the capability of strength-based design using surrogate models of sectional failure criteria. A thin-walled composite shell structure is used to demonstrate the capability of designing variable stiffness structures by steering in-plane orientations of fibers of the laminate. Finally, the tool is used to study and design auxetic laminated composite materials which have negative Poisson's ratios.</p>

La problématique initiale part du constat que les échecs d’implants sont souvent causés par une inadéquation entre les propriétés élastiques de l’os et celles de l’implant. Aujourd’hui, ce problème de biocompatibilité mécanique suscite un intérêt croissant et a conduit au développement d’alliages de titane β-métastables qui possèdent un module d’élasticité faible, moitié moindre que celui de l’alliage Ti-6Al-4V classiquement utilisé dans les applications d’implantologie. De plus, les structures architecturées ou treillis font, elles aussi, l’objet d’intenses recherches dans le but de réduire le module d’élasticité et de maximiser la résistance. Leur mise en forme, avec une maîtrise précise de l’architecture, est possible grâce à la fabrication additive et les nombreuses possibilités qu’elle offre : liberté de design, gain matière, pièces complexes, customisation de masse... Ce travail de thèse porte sur la mise en œuvre de l’alliage de titane à bas module d’élasticité Ti-26Nb(%at.) par la technologie de fusion laser sur lit de poudres. Une stratégie d’élaboration in situ de ces alliages à partir de poudres élémentaires de Ti et de Nb est explorée, à la fois pour permettre d’éventuels ajustements de composition, et pour pallier au manque de disponibilité des alliages de titane sous forme de poudres. La démarche est réalisée avec deux morphologies de poudre, irrégulière et sphérique. Les effets des nombreux paramètres de ce procédé (puissance du laser, vitesse et stratégie de balayage...) sur l’homogénéité et la porosité des pièces élaborées sont quantifiés. Un alliage homogène peut être obtenu sous réserve de l’utilisation d’une densité d’énergie adaptée et d’une granulométrie de poudre tenant compte des températures de fusion respectives des éléments. La caractérisation de la microstructure met en évidence une texture marquée, dépendante de la stratégie de balayage. Les pièces élaborées présentent un bas module d’élasticité associé à une résistance mécanique élevée, avec une déformation élastique favorable par rapport à un alliage de référence coulé. Par ailleurs, un algorithme d’optimisation est développé et permet de contrôler les propriétés mécaniques d’une structure architecturée à partir de ses paramètres géométriques (rayon, longueur et orientation des poutres). La combinaison de cet alliage de titane à bas module d’élasticité et d’une structure architecturée développée à partir ce cet algorithme a été appliqué à une prothèse totale de hanche, qui a fait l’objet de simulations par éléments finis. L’évaluation du phénomène de stress-shielding montre que, comparativement à un modèle massif plus rigide, ce type de prothèse permet de réduire de façon significative la déviation des contraintes. En se rapprochant du modèle dit physiologique, cette prothèse peut être qualifiée de « biomimétique » sur le plan du comportement mécanique / The initial problematic arises from the fact that implant failure is often caused by a mismatch between the elastic properties of the bone and those of the implant. Nowadays, an increasing interest is given to this mechanical biocompatibility and led to the development of β-metastable titanium alloys that possess low Young’s modulus, about half that of the conventionally used Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Moreover, lattice structures are currently being the subject of many investigations with the aim of achieving low Young’s modulus and high strength. Their fabrication, with accurate control over the architecture, is made possible thanks to additive manufacturing processes and the several possibilities they offer: design freedom, reduced material usage rate, complex shapes, mass customisation... The present work focuses on the implementation of low modulus titanium alloy Ti-26Nb(at.%) by the means of selective laser melting. An in situ elaboration strategy, based on a mixture of elemental powders, is explored in order to allow potential composition adjustments and to overcome the unavailability of titanium alloy powders. The approach is carried out using two distinct powder morphologies, spherical and irregular. The effects of the numerous parameters of the process (laser power, speed, scanning strategy...) on homogeneity and porosity of the manufactured parts is quantified. A homogeneous alloy can be obtained subject to the use of suitable energy density levels and powder size distributions that take into account the respective fusion temperatures of both elements. Microstructure characterisation highlights a pronounced texture resulting from the scanning strategy. The elaborated samples display a low Young’s modulus associated with a high strength, and hence a favourable strength to elastic modulus ratio compared to the reference cast alloy. Furthermore, an optimization algorithm is developed and allows controlling the mechanical properties of a lattice structure with its geometrical parameters (radius, length and orientation of struts). The combined use of this low Young’s modulus titanium alloy with a lattice structure developed through this algorithm was applied to the design of a total hip prosthesis that was subjected to finite element simulations. Stress-shielding evaluation shows that, compared to a solid design, this kind of prosthesis permits to reduce stress-shielding significantly. By getting closer to a physiological model, this prosthesis can be qualified as “biomimetic” in terms of mechanical behaviour

[pt] Materiais feitos com microestruturas arquitetadas possuem propriedades mecânicas ajustáveis e podem ser usados na obtenção de estruturas leves e, ao mesmo tempo, com máxima rigidez. Em estruturas celulares formadas por rede de treliças, por exemplo, pode-se variar o tipo de topologia e porosidade de modo que o material seja eficientemente distribuído no domínio de projeto. Devido às geometrias complexas destas estruturas, projetá-las usando ferramentas de desenho assistido por computador é uma tarefa desafiadora. Neste trabalho, foi desenvolvida uma modelagem paramétrica no programa Rhinoceros usando a extensão Grasshopper para auxiliar na construção de modelos de sólidos celulares com estrutura interna treliçada de densidade variável. A modelagem paramétrica desenvolvida permite definir a topologia e o diâmetro das barras das treliças que simplificam em muito a geração de modelos de sólidos porosos. Modelos de microestrutura foram gerados e fabricados em poliamida 12 por meio de sinterização seletiva a laser para avaliar se é viável imprimir as treliças a partir dos parâmetros estabelecidos. O problema de uma viga biapoiada com carga concentrada no centro foi resolvido utilizando-se o método de otimização topológica e o campo de densidades foi usado para geração do modelo de densidade variável. Considerando a mesma massa final dos modelos otimizados, modelos com densidade constante foram gerados e fabricados juntamente com os modelos de densidade variável. Foram realizadas análises experimentais por meio de ensaios de flexão em três pontos e os resultados mostram que a solução usando densidade variável tem um grande aumento da rigidez quando comparadas com as soluções com densidade uniforme. / [en] Materials made with architected microstructures present tunable mechanical properties and can be used to obtain light structures and, at the same time, with maximum stiffness. In lattice structures, for example, the type of topology and porosity can be varied so that the material is efficiently distributed in the design domain. Due to the complex geometries of these structures, designing them using computer-aided design tools is a challenging task. In this work, a parametric modeling was developed in the Rhinoceros program using the Grasshopper extension to assist in the construction of models of lattice structures with varying truss diameters. The developed parametric modeling allows defining the topology and the diameter of the truss bars, which greatly simplifies the generation of models of porous solids. Microstructure models were generated and manufactured in polyamide 12 through selective laser sintering to assess whether it is feasible to print the trusses from the established parameters. The problem of a simply supported beam with a concentrated load at the center was solved using the topology optimization method and the density field was used to generate the variable density model. Considering the same final mass of the optimized models, models with constant density were generated and manufactured together with the models with variable density. Experimental analyzes were carried out using three-point bending tests and the results show that the solution using variable density has a large increase in stiffness when compared to solutions with uniform density.

Traditional methods for increasing the energy absorption of a structure involve using a stronger material or increasing the volume of the structure, resulting in a higher cost or additional weight. Additive manufacturing (AM) can be used to maximize the energy absorption of materials with the ability to create complex geometries such as cellular structures. Previous work has shown that the energy absorption of additively manufactured parts can be improved through functionally graded cellular structures; however, this strategy has not been applied to ultra-high strength steel materials. This work characterizes the effect of multiple functional-grading strategies (e.g. uniform, rod-graded, size-graded) on the energy absorption to weight ratio of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) produced M300 maraging steel lattice structures. Each structure is designed with the same average relative density to analyze the structures on an equal mass basis, to evaluate manufacturability, mechanical response, and compare experimental results with numerical simulation.

No description available.

Die neuen Fertigungsmöglichkeiten durch die Additive Fertigung ermöglicht es nicht nur topologisch neuartige Bauteile herzustellen, sondern auch Bauteile mit inneren Strukturen zu versehen, die der Bauteilbelastung angepasst sind oder anderen Funktionen Freiräume bieten. Ein Ansatz ist es durchlässige innere Strukturen, z. B. Gitterstrukturen (auch als Lattice Strukturen bezeichnet) einzusetzen und durch die damit geschaffenen großen inneren Flächen eine effiziente Bauteilkühlung zu realisieren. Anhand eines einfachen Beispiels wird durch Simulation und Experiment die Wirkung einer solchen Kühlung gezeigt. Als weiteres Anwendungsbeispiel wird der Einsatz verschiedener innere Strukturen zur festigkeitsgerechten Gestaltung gewichtsoptimierter Bauteile vorgestellt. In beiden Fällen wird die Gestaltung mit Hilfe von FE-Modellen experimentell begleitet. / The new manufacturing possibilities offered by additive manufacturing not only allows to produce topologically novel components, but also enables to provide components with internal structures that are adapted to the component load or offer new possibilities for other functions. One approach is to use permeable internal structures, e. g. lattice structures, to realize efficient component cooling through the large internal surfaces created thereby. The effect of such a cooling is demonstrated by simulations and experiments using a simple example. As a further application example, the use of various internal structures for the strength-oriented design of weight-optimized components will be presented. In both cases the design is experimentally accompanied by FE models.

The rise of additive manufacturing has enabled new degrees of freedom in terms of design and functionality. In this context, this contribution addresses the design and characterization of structural unit cells that are intended as building blocks of highly porous lattice structures with tailored properties. While typical lattice structures are often composed of gyroid or diamond lattices, this study presents stackable unit cells of different sizes created by a generative design approach tomeet boundary conditions such as printability and homogeneous stress distributions under a given mechanical load. Suitable laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) parameterswere determined forAlSi10Mg to ensure high resolution and process reproducibility for all considered unit cells. Stacks of unit cells were integrated into tensile and pressure test specimens for which the mechanical performance of the cells was evaluated. Experimentally measured material properties, applied process parameters, and mechanical test results were employed for calibration and validation of finite element (FE) simulations of both the LPBF process as well as the subsequent mechanical characterization. The obtained data therefore provides the basis to combine the different unit cells into tailored lattice structures and to numerically investigate the local variation of properties in the resulting structures. / Durch die Einführung der Additiven Fertigung können neue Freiheitsgrade in Bezug auf Gestaltungsfreiheit und Funktionalität erreicht werden. In diesem Zusammenhang adressiert dieser Beitrag das Design und die Charakterisierung struktureller Einheitszellen als Bausteine für hochgradig poröse Gitterstrukturen mit maßgeschneiderten Eigenschaften. Während typische Gitterstrukturen oft auf Gyroid- oder Diamantstrukturen basieren, präsentiert dieser Beitrag stapelbare Einheitszellen unterschiedlicher Größe, die durch einen generativen Designansatz erstellt wurden. Hierdurch sollen verschiedene Randbedingungen wie eine gute Druckbarkeit und homogene Spannungsverteilung unter gegebenen mechanischen Lasten erreicht werden. Um eine hohe Auflösung und Reproduzierbarkeit der Einheitszellen zu erreichen, wurden für den verwendeten Werkstoff AlSi10Mg geeignete Druckparameter für das Laserstrahlschmelzen (LPBF) ermittelt. Stapel von Einheitszellen wurden in Zug- und Druckproben integriert, anhand derer die mechanische Stabilität der Zellen ermittelt wurde. Experimentell bestimmte Materialeigenschaften, die verwendeten Prozessparameter und die Ergebnisse der mechanischen Untersuchungen wurden anschließend für die Kalibrierung und Validierung Finiter Elemente (FE) Simulationen herangezogen, wobei simulationsseitig sowohl der Prozess des Laserstrahlschmelzens als auch die nachgelagerte mechanische Charakterisierung berücksichtigt wurden. Die hier präsentierten Ergebnisse sollen als Basis sowohl für eine gezielte Anordnung der Einheitszellen zu maßgeschneiderten Gitterstrukturen dienen als auch für die numerische Auswertung der lokal variierenden Eigenschaften der somit resultierenden Strukturen.