Distinctive mechanical responses of strut-based and triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) Ti-6Al-4V diamond lattice structures produced by electron beam melting

doi:10.1016/j.metadv.2026.02.001

Abstract

Abstract:

Lattice structures exhibit exceptional specific strength and energy absorption, making them ideal for aerospace and biomedical applications. While both strut-based (Strut-D) and TPMS-based (triply periodic minimal surface-D) diamond lattice structures show promising mechanical performance, the fundamental differences in their deformation mechanisms and mechanical behavior remain unclear. In this work, Ti-6Al-4V Strut-D and TPMS-D structures with 20% volume fraction were fabricated via electron beam melting (EB-PBF) and their compressive behavior and microstructure were systematically investigated. Compared to Strut-D, TPMS-D structures demonstrate superior mechanical properties: elastic modulus increased by 18.0% (1.51 GPa vs 1.28 GPa), compressive strength enhanced by 28.9% (58.4 MPa vs 45.3 MPa), and energy absorption at densification improved by 57.8% (16.1 MJ m⁻³ vs 10.2 MJ m⁻³). Finite element analysis revealed that the continuous curved surfaces of TPMS-D disperse stress more uniformly, avoiding stress concentration at nodes and enabling more material to bear load. In contrast, Strut-D exhibits localized stress at strut-node junctions, leading to premature failure. This study clarifies the topological influence on mechanical responses and provides insights for designing high-performance lattice structures.

Key words: Lattice structure, Ti-6Al-4V, Electron beam melting, Diamond, Compressive behavior

Li-Na Zhang, Yu Guo, Wu Pan, Wen-Ge Xu, Cheng-Long Teng, Rui-Feng Li, Sheng Lu, Liang-Yu Chen. Distinctive mechanical responses of strut-based and triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) Ti-6Al-4V diamond lattice structures produced by electron beam melting[J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 41: 45-54.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig. 1. Unit cells of (a) TPMS-D and (d) Strut-D structures; (b) TPMS-D and (e) Strut-D models with 4 × 4 × 6 cells; macroscopic images of EBM-produced (c) TPMS-D and (f) Strut-D lattice structures with 20% volume fraction.

Fig. 2. Morphologies of the samples: (a1) and (a2) digital images of TPMS-D in side view and top view, respectively, (b) SEM image of TPMS-D in side view; (c1) and (c2) digital images of Strut-D in side view and top view, respectively, (d) SEM image of Strut-D in side view.

Fig. 3. Optical microstructures of the samples: (a) TPMS-D and (b) Strut-D.

Fig. 4. EBSD results of inverse pole figure maps of (a) TPMS-D and (b) Strut-D, recrystallization degree maps of (c) TPMS-D and (d) Strut-D, and {0002} and $ \{11 \overline{2} 0\}$ pole figures of (e) TPMS-D and (f) Strut-D.

Fig. 5. Statistical analysis of α grains for TPMS-D and Strut-D: (a), (d) distributions of sizes; (b), (e) distributions of aspect ratios; (c), (f) distributions of misorientation angles.

Fig. 6. Compressive properties of the samples: the stress-strain curves of (a) the TPMS-D and (d) Strut-D structures, the energy absorption-strain curves of (b) the TPMS-D and (e) Strut-D structures, and compressive strength of each peak on the stress-strain curves of (c) the TPMS-D and (f) Strut-D structures.

Table 1. Compressive properties of the TPMS-D and Strut-D structures in Fig. 6.

Sample	Elastic modulus (GPa)	Compressive strength (MPa)	Energy absorption at densification (MJ m⁻³)
TPMS-D	1.51 ± 0.17	58.4 ± 5.2	16.1 ± 1.2
Strut-D	1.28 ± 0.13	45.3 ± 3.9	10.2 ± 1.1

Fig. 7. Video snapshots captured during the compressive test: (a) the TPMS-D structure and (b) the Strut-D structure.

Fig. 8. Finite element analysis of the local stress and strain nephograms of the TPMS-D and Strut-D cells up to the strain of 12.5%.

Fig. 9. Finite element analysis (FEA) of the local stress nephograms of both structures up to the strain of 12%: (a) the TPMS-D structure and (b) the Strut-D structure. Five XY-plane slices are extracted from the FEA models at a strain of 12% between the height (h) of 18.750 mm and 21.250 mm at equal distances.

Table 2. Gibson-Ashby coefficients derived from experimental results.

Sample	$C_{1}$	$C_{2}$
TPMS-D	0.32	0.72
Strut-D	0.27	0.56

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