Mechanical performance analysis of functionally graded triply periodic minimal surfaces

To address the issue of a single gradient direction in the gradient design of triply periodic minimal surfaces, two functional gradient schemes, trapezoidal and W-shaped, were proposed based on the stress distribution range of the uniform thickness porous structure model using the primitive minimal surface porous structure. These structures were manufactured using a photosensitive resin through stereolithography additive manufacturing technology. Through finite element analysis and experimental validation, it was observed that as porosity decreases, the bending resistance of the uniform thickness model increases. The designed functional gradient porous structures were compared with the uniform thickness model. The results show that the designed gradient porous structure has a higher strength and bending stiffness than the uniform thickness porous structure. The proposed design can improve the bending performance of the porous structure. The W-shaped gradient porous structure with fine control of porosity variation range had better ability to improve structural bending performance than the trapezoidal gradient design.