Comparison of Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Energy Absorbers Under Uniaxial Compressive Loading

Cellular materials are a subclass of mechanical meta‐materials, which show properties that surpass those of the respective constituent bulk material. Due to lower mass densities, they excel in mass‐specific mechanical performance measures like energy absorption. One particularly fascinating subclass of cellular materials is Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures, which grow increasingly popular. Specimens are manufactured from the photosensitive resin BASF Ultracur3D ST1400. Preceding the main study, the additive manufacturing process is examined and optimized, primarily taking into account the specimen orientation during the 3D printing process as well as the curing duration. This contribution compares the mechanical behavior of additively manufactured Gyroid, Diamond, I‐WP, Primitive, Fischer‐Koch‐S, and F‐RD structures under uniaxial quasistatic compressive loading. In addition to comparing the underlying structure types, the influence of unit cell sizes and structure type combinations on the mechanical performance is studied. Ultimately, a Diamond–Gyroid sandwich structure with a unit cell size of 7.5 mm that was cured for 150 min showed overall best performance, absorbing (15.9 0.4) J g.