Design of bending dominated lattice architectures with improved stiffness using hierarchy

Micro-architectured lattices are a promising subclass of cellular solids whose inner topologies can be tailored to enhance their stiffness. Generally, enhancing lattices' stiffness is achieved by increasing their connectivity. This strategy gives rise to a stiffer response by forcing lattices' ligaments to deform mainly in an axial manner. Conversely, this work is interested in developing micro-architectured lattices with enhanced stiffness, but whose cell walls deform in a flexural manner. Such structures can be more ductile and exhibit better energy mitigation abilities than their stretching dominated counterparts. Enhancing the stiffness of bending dominated lattices without increasing their connectivity can be realized by transforming them to hierarchical ones. This work explores, using experimentally verified finite element simulations, the effect of fractal-inspired hierarchy and customized nonfractal-based hierarchy on stiffness, anisotropy, and deformation mechanisms of an anisotropic bending dominated diamond lattice. Results show that fractal-inspired hierarchy can significantly enhance the stiffness of bending dominated lattices without affecting their deformation mechanisms or anisotropy level; ill-designed hierarchy can have a detrimental effect on lattice's stiffness; and customized hierarchy are more effective than fractal-inspired hierarchy in enhancing lattices' stiffness as well as can be more compatible with traditional, reliable, mass-producing manufacturing processes.