Orthogonal experimental design for the evaluation of the permeability and mechanical properties of TPMS structures

Three kinds of TPMS architecture, Primitive, Gyroid and Diamond, with different porosity and cell size were manufactured in both PLA and ZrO 2 , based on an orthogonal experimental design, to investigate the influence of those factors on their permeability (Darcy permeability coefficient k 1 and Forchheimer coefficient β ) and mechanical properties (Young’s modulus and energy absorption). This work reports the data from permeability and uniaxial compression tests, and numerical simulations conducted by Fluent and Abaqus. The experiment data and simulation results matched well, and the range analysis of the orthogonal experiments shows that porosity is the primary factor affecting all properties. Specifically, the Darcy permeability coefficient k 1 increased with porosity, while the Forchheimer coefficient β , Young’s modulus and energy absorption decreased with porosity; for instance, the Primitive structure possessed the highest permeability but the lowest mechanical strength. No linear relationship between the cell size and all properties was observed. Concerning permeability, the importance of the TPMS architecture comes third for the Darcy permeability coefficient k 1 but second for the Forchheimer coefficient β . For the mechanical properties, the factor sequence and the response of the factor level mean values for each factor were the same.