Collapse Behavior and Energy Absorbing Characteristics of 3D-Printed Tubes with Different Infill Pattern Structures: An Experimental Study

Abstract

AbstractThis work investigates the impact of infill pattern structure on the crashworthy performance and deformation history of 3D-printed tubes subjected to a quasi-static axial compression load. The proposed tubes were made from polylactic acid (PLA) using a 3D printing technique. Five infill pattern structures were adapted, i.e. circular, square, triangle, zigzag and cross patterns with 50% infill density. The crashworthy analysis was carried out by assessing different indicators, i.e. peak force ($${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{ip}})$$ F ip ) , mean crush force ($${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{m}})$$ F m ) , total absorbed energy (U), specific absorbed energy (SEA), and crushing force efficiency (CFE). It was found that the square infill pattern shows the maximum $${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{ip}}$$ F ip , $${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{m}}$$ F m , U and SEA with values of (24.38 kN, 20.58 kN, 673.38 kJ, and 26.52) while zigzag infill pattern shows the highest CFE with a value of 0.91. The optimal infill pattern is determined using a Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) method called Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS). The COPRAS results showed that the square infill pattern is the most effective energy absorbing structure.