journal article·2026-01

Adjustable Energy Absorption of Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Structures via Additively Reconfigurable Manufacturing‐Based Investment Casting

Chia‐Yu Kao, Chen‐Ming Chen, Yu‐Hao Pan, Zih‐Siang Hung, Cheng‐Fu Huang, Sheng‐Chan Lee, Chien‐Wei Chan, Yiin‐Kuen Fuh

Advanced Engineering Materials· Volume 28· Issue 1
Publisher page

Abstract

Structures with triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are characterized by continuous and smooth geometries, providing design versatility well‐suited for mechanical enhancement and energy dissipation functions. Although metal additive manufacturing (AM) is a powerful method for fabricating TPMS structures, its application at large scales is often limited by high production costs, build size constraints, and challenges in achieving fully dense structures in complex enclosed geometries. To address these practical limitations, this study proposes a modular investment casting strategy using 3D‐printed polylactic acid patterns to fabricate Schwarz Primitive TPMS structures. By decomposing the structure into castable modules, the proposed method enables flexible scaling while reducing common casting defects such as cold shuts and incomplete filling. Six configurations with different wall thicknesses and unit cell counts are successfully produced. Experimental results demonstrate that increasing the wall thickness significantly enhances the yield strength, elastic modulus, and energy absorption, with the best‐performing specimen exhibiting a specific energy absorption of 19.9 J g −1 . Compared with conventional lattice topologies and stainless‐steel cellular metal foams, the modular TPMS structures demonstrate superior tunable energy absorption in the high‐density regime (1.8–3.5 g cm −3 ). This work establishes a cost‐effective and scalable alternative to AM for manufacturing high‐performance TPMS structures for engineering applications.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Cellular and Composite Structures · Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies · Advanced Materials and Mechanics

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Mechanical Engineering National Central University Taoyuan City 32001 Taiwan (ROC)

GlobalTek Fabrication Co., Ltd. Xinwu Factory Taoyuan City 327001 Taiwan (ROC)

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