Optimal and Manufacturable Two-dimensional, Kagomé-like Cellular Solids

We used the topology optimization technique to obtain two-dimensional, isotropic cellular solids with optimal effective elastic moduli and effective conductivity. The overall aim was to obtain the best (simplest) manufacturable structures for these effective properties, i.e., single-length-scale structures. Three different but simple periodic structures arose due to the imposed geometric mirror symmetries: lattices with triangular-like cells, hexagonal-like cells, or Kagomé-like cells. As a general rule, the structures with the Kagomé-like cells provided the best performance over a wide range of densities, i.e., for 0 ≰ ф <0.6, where ф is the solid volume fraction (density). At high densities (ф > 0.6), Kagome-like structures were no longer possible, and lattices with hexagonal-like or triangular-like cells provide virtually the same optimal performance. The Kagomé-like structures were found to be a new class of cellular solids with many useful features, including desirable transport and elastic properties, heat-dissipation characteristics, improved mechanical strength, and ease of fabrication.