Desing and Optimization of Components made of Heterogeneous Lattice Structures: Software Package METAMAT
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In the recent years, as Additive Manufacturing enabled the creation of components with a great geometrical complexity, the adoption of lattice structures as innovative construction materials has gained momentum in both academic and industrial sectors. One of the primary appeal for their use lies in the capacity to optimize, considering the specific load cases, the overall performance of a component by fine-tuning the material properties through modifications of the unit-cell geometry. This optimization procedure offers flexibility, allowing adjustments either on a global scale, by homogeneously modifying the cells within a domain, or on a local scale, by independently altering the unit-cell geometry to achieve an heterogeneous structure. The latter case has greater potential for optimization, as it permits maximizing material utilization within a component to the fullest extent possible. Nevertheless, the currently available software packages for lattice structure design limit users to achieving continuous grading solely in the solid/void ratio within the cell (Volume Fraction), maintaining a fixed topology. This limitation arises because, to achieve a smooth topology grading of unit cells, their geometry should ideally be generated through a consistent algorithm with variables that can be continuously adjusted. Unfortunately, the typical approach involves producing geometry based on geometrical intuition, making continuous adjustments challenging within existing software frameworks. In a previous work, the authors presented a geometrical algorithm for the generation of beam-based cubic unit cells, here implemented in the software package “METAMAT”. The software outputs an STL file, readily printable through Additive Manufacturing, and the geometric variables of each cell can be derived from continuous data fields obtained through numerical optimization on the component.