Numerical Simulation and Mechanical Property Evaluation of Novel Ti6Al4V BCCZ Lattice Structures Prepared by Laser Powder Bed Fusion with Various Bracing Positions

By adding vertical bracings at the nodes of the body-centered cubic (BCC) unit cell diagonal pillars, at the midpoints between the nodes and the pillar endpoints, at the quarter points near the endpoints, and at the endpoints, four new types of BCCZ unit cell structures are designed. Employing laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), two sets of Ti6Al4V lattice structures with 75 and 85% porosities are produced. The mechanical properties, deformation failure modes, and energy absorption of the BCC and the novel body-centered cubic (BCCZ) under uniaxial compression are investigated, followed by comparative analysis. The study reveals the position of vertical bracings within the unit cell influences the mechanical behavior of lattice structures. Under the same porosity, the BCCZ-3 exhibits the best mechanical performance, while the BCC shows the lowest. The energy absorption capacity of the BCCZ-3 is significantly higher than the other four structures. The energy absorption rates of A-BCCZ-3 and B-BCCZ-3 are 24.19 times and 15.08 times higher than that of the BCC, respectively, and 13.67 times and 8.27 times higher than BCCZ-1. These findings indicate that the novel BCCZ structures have significant potential for load-bearing applications compared to the conventional BCC and BCCZ lattice structures.