Elastic mechanical property hybridization of configuration-varying TPMS with geometric continuity

Hybrid design is an effective approach to construct functional mechanical metamaterials. In this study, a periodic hybrid method for the TPMS (triply periodic minimal surface) structures is proposed, maintaining the original surface connectivity and structural strength. It is implemented by the combination of implicit function psi(x, y, z) and transition function eta(x, y,z) of the TPMS governing equation. Furthermore, three classical TPMS, i.e., P (Schwarz Primitive), IWP (Schoen I-WP) and FRD (Schoen F-RD), are represented to study the elastic properties of hybridizations using FE (Finite Element) computational method and experiments. Through the RVE-based (Representative Volume Element) homogenization method, it is demonstrated how hybridization of TPMS expands the designable range of elastic modulus. In addition, the elastic properties of the hybridizations, such as axial modulus, diagonal modulus and anisotropy, etc., can be quantificationally tailored by turning the formal parameters of TPMS. This study can be considered as a foundational contribution for the advancement of hybrid TPMS metamaterials. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.