Experimental evaluation of biomimicry-inspired metallic hybrid lattice structures produced by laser powder bed fusion

Abstract

This study presents an experimental evaluation of novel bio-inspired hybrid lattice structures fabricated from AlSi10Mg using the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) technique. Drawing inspiration from the hierarchical architecture of coral formations, three hybrid lattice configurations-GiG (Gyroid inside Gyroid), GiD (Gyroid inside Diamond), and GiS (Gyroid inside Schwarz)-were designed to investigate the influence of internal topology on mechanical behavior. Samples were characterized through quasi-static compression tests, hardness measurements, surface roughness evaluation, SEM, and XRD analyses. Among the configurations, GiS demonstrated the highest compressive strength (134.35 MPa) and energy absorption capacity (80.14 MJ m-3), owing to its combined stretch- and bending-dominated characteristics. These findings underline the potential of bio-inspired lattice geometries to improve mechanical performance in lightweight design, thereby offering promising strategies for advanced industrial applications.