Mechanical characterization and properties of laser-based powder bed–fused lattice structures: a review

Abstract

The increasing demand for a wider access to additive manufacturing technologies is driving the production of metal lattice structure with powder bed fusion techniques, especially laser-based powder bed fusion. Lattice structures are porous structures formed by a controlled repetition in space of a designed base unit cell. The tailored porosity, the low weight, and the tunable mechanical properties make the lattice structures suitable for applications in fields like aerospace, automotive, and biomedicine. Due to their wide-spectrum applications, the mechanical characterization of lattice structures is mostly carried out under compression tests, but recently, tensile, bending, and fatigue tests have been carried out demonstrating the increasing interest in these structures developed by academy and industry. Although their physical and mechanical properties have been extensively studied in recent years, there still are no specific standards for their characterization. In the absence of definite standards, this work aims to collect the parameters used by recent researches for the mechanical characterization of metal lattice structures. By doing so, it provides a comparison guide within tests already carried out, allowing the choice of optimal parameters to researchers before testing lattice samples. For every mechanical test, a detailed review of the process design, test parameters, and output is given, suggesting that a specific standard would enhance the collaboration between all the stakeholders and enable an acceleration of the translation process.