Enhancing the mechanical performance of primitive triply periodic minimal surface structures by rotating unit cell lattices

The triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) is a novel porous structure with excellent mechanical properties. Despite the extensive strategies to enhance performance, it remains challenging to improve the mechanical properties while keeping the smoothness and connectivity features of TPMS. This study centers on the primitive structure exhibiting marked anisotropy. Here we propose that the mechanical properties of the primitive structure along three principal directions can be enhanced by simply rotating the unit cell and leveraging the anisotropy while preserving its advantageous morphology. Through rotation of the unit cell of the primitive structure to different orientations, the energy absorption and load-bearing capacity of the resulting structures were evaluated. It is found that the energy absorption capacity and the load-bearing capacity of the rotated structure are respectively enhanced by 45.4 and 44.3% compared to the unrotated structure, which can be attributed to the extra support provided by the two sides of the primitive structure’s central cavity. Moreover, the variation of mechanical properties of the Primitive structure with the rotation angle can be simply predicted by the loaded cross-sectional shape of the structure. This study provides an effective and simple strategy for enhancing the mechanical performance of lattice structures to fully harness their potential.