Acta Astronautica 150 (2018) 81–84

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Acta Astronautica
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro

Mechanical properties of energy-absorbing structures with triply periodic

minimal surface topology
M.M. Sychov a, b, L.A. Lebedev a, b, *, S.V. Dyachenko b, c, L.A. Nefedova c
a
Institute of Silicate Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (ISC RAS), Russian Federation
b
Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University), Russian Federation
c
Joint Stock Company “Almaz-Antey”, Russian Federation

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this work mechanical properties of structures with triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) topology were
Triply periodic minimal surfaces investigated using plastic prototypes made of polylactic acid by 3D-printing process. The application of such
Mechanical properties materials as energy-absorbing structures and protection systems for space flight safety is discussed.
Energy-absorbing structures
Space flight safety

sin(x)⋅sin(y)⋅sin(z)þsin(x)⋅cos(y)⋅cos(z)þcos(х)⋅sin(y)⋅cos(z)þcos(x)⋅cos(y)⋅
1. Introduction
sin(z) ¼ t (2)

The problem of protection of orbital stations against ballistic exposure Neovius surface:
to «space debris» is widely discussed in scientific literature and internet
[1,2]. The data is available in literature on distribution of space debris in 3⋅(cos(x)þcos(y)þcos(z))þ4⋅(cos(x)⋅cos(y)⋅cos(z)) ¼ t (3)
orbits [3,4]. All the sources express the opinion that space debris presents D-prime surface:
a real threat for orbital stations [5–7], and its amount will be increasing
owing to active exploitation of the near-Earth space environment and 0.5⋅(sin(x)⋅sin(y)⋅sin(z)þcos(x)⋅cos(y)⋅cos(z))-0.5⋅(cos(2x)⋅cos(2y)þcos(2y)⋅
mutual collision of the space debris objects and particles (Kessler syn- cos(2z)þcos(2z)⋅cos(2x)) ¼ t (4)
drome) [4]. Due to this reason protection of space vehicles against col-
Nowadays the so-called “honeycomb structures”, in which the pores
lisions with high-velocity damaging elements is widely discussed [8].
usually have a hexagonal honeycomb-like structure, are widely used in
The protective shields are mostly based on physical principles using
various industries. One may call this idea “geometric”, because it is based
honeycomb structures, meshes, etc. [1,8–10].
on the solution of the problem of optimal coverage of a space (including
Structures with triply periodic minimal surface topology consist of
three-dimensional) with geometric figures and maximum surface within
repeating elements with the minimum possible area [11]. They combine
a certain volume. The idea of usage of structures with triply periodic
surfaces with positive and negative curvature and represent infinite
minimal surface topology for the conditions of extreme loads was sug-
structures with periodicity along three axes. Samples of structures with
gested in Refs. [12,13]. This idea is “physical”, since it is based on the
such a topology are shown on the Fig. 1.
principle of formation the smallest possible area with a boundary in the
Each triply periodic minimal surface has a strict mathematical
form closed curve (an example is a soap film covering a wire loop). In the
equation, which may be used to vary parameters of the structure and
aerospace industry such structures may be used as protective layers from
therefore, the properties of the resulting structures.
micrometeoroids, space debris and fragments. In the landing systems of
Gyroid:
space vehicles, they may be used as dampers or shock absorbers for en-
cos(x)⋅sin(y)þcos(y)⋅sin(z)þcos(z)⋅sin(x) ¼ t (1) ergy absorption, replacing the currently used honeycomb blocks made of
metal foil [14].
Shwartz diamond: For the first time, a study was made of the energy-absorbing prop-
erties of light structures with different topologies of TPMS, which were

* Corresponding author. Institute of Silicate Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (ISC RAS), Russian Federation.
E-mail address: 1595lion@gmail.com (L.A. Lebedev).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.12.034
Received 31 October 2017; Accepted 21 December 2017
Available online 27 December 2017
0094-5765/© 2018 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.M. Sychov et al. Acta Astronautica 150 (2018) 81–84

Fig. 1. Samples of structures with TPMS topology:

a) Gyroid; b) Shwartz diamond; c) Neovius surface; d) D-prime surface.

made of plastic by 3D printing. Such a manufacturing option is the only
one possible for structures with such a complex topology.
2. Experimental
To study physical and mechanical properties, samples with a TPMS
topology were made (Fig. 1). The size of the samples was
30  30  30 mm. The printed samples were obtained by fused deposi-
tion modeling using Anet A6 FDM 3D printer. The layer thickness was
0.2 mm. Apparent density was determined by the hydrostatic method.
The material of the samples was polylactide (PLA), a polyester of
lactic (2-hydroxypropionic) acid. Due to the presence in its composition
of the ester group, the polylactide is able to gradually hydrolyze. Lactic
acid forms during the hydrolysis of polylactide, therefore the use of
materials based on polylactide does not damage the biosphere. In addi-
tion, it is cheap, non-toxic and environmentally safe [15].
Samples were tested for compressive strength on a Breaking Machine
Walter þ bai ag LFM - 400 kN at the 26  C temperature and 5 mm/min
loading rate.
3. Results and discussion
To study the influence of topology on the mechanical properties, the
loading curves of the samples during the compression were measured.
Based on the tests of the gyroid type TPMS, it was discovered that sam-
ples exhibit properties of a plastic material under loading if they are
located along the “growth” direction [12]. This is due to the peculiarities
of the properties of materials obtained by 3D printing. Therefore, all the
samples were compressed along the “growth” axis in connection with the
potential use of such structures as energy absorbers.
When the samples were loaded along the “growth” axis, they con-
tracted during the experiment, practically without changing their cross-
section area. Analysis of the deformation curve of a gyroid (Fig. 2)
resulted in the ultimate strength of the samples of 2.65  0.07 MPa,
which corresponds to the nominal relative strain at compression at a
yield strength of εCY ¼ 15.3%. Obviously, the loading curves of the tested
samples are very similar to those characteristic of honeycomb structures
used as energy absorbers [16]. The obtained stress-versus–strain curves
correspond to the compression diagram of such structures with elastic
regions (the initial section of the curve), the condensing-plastic (middle
part), and the densification (the region of a sharp increase of strain). For
the gyroid limit value of the deformation, after which steep increase of
strain begins and the structure stops functioning as an effective energy
absorber, is εlim  52%. The results obtained for other samples are shown
in the Table 1.
To estimate prospects of usage of structures with the TPMS topology
as energy absorbers, the damping characteristics of the samples were
analyzed according to [16]. Specific impact absorption energy (A), Fig.
3:
ε
A ¼ ∫ 0max σ dε (5)
00
Effective shock absorption energy (Е ), Fig. 4:
ε σ
E00 ¼ ∫ 0max dε (6)
ðσ max εmax Þ
From the Figs. 3 and 4 one can see that the characteristics of the
fabricated elements fully correspond to the typical properties of cellular
energy-absorbing structures [16].
From the data shown in the Table 1 it is obvious that the limit
deformation of the samples decreases with increasing sample density.
The ultimate strength in this case tends to increase, but the relationship is
more complex and it is obvious that fill factor φ is not the only parameter
affecting strength. Fig. 5 shows the dependence of the specific strength
on fill factor, φ ¼ 100% corresponds to a printed solid cube without
voids. Typically, the specific mechanical characteristics linearly depend
on the porosity (fill factor) [17]. In our case, this is true only for two
topologies, for the other two there is an additional strength. Thus, it is
obvious that in addition to fill factor, the strength of the samples is
significantly influenced by the topology and it is necessary to use some
parameters characterizing the topology and reflecting its influence on the
strength of the samples.
It is known that the approach of skeletal graphs can be applied to the
description of the topological features of TPMS. Skeletal graphs represent

Table 1
Properties of structural elements with TPMS topology.

TPMS type ρ, g/ φ, % σ, σspec, εCY, εlim, А30,a

cm3 MPa (MPa⋅cm3)/g % % MJ/
m3

Shwartz 0.20 17.5 3.07 15.4 8.3 54 0.73

Diamond
Gyroid 0.21 18.1 2.64 12.6 15.3 52 0.65
Neovius 0.24 21.3 4.74 19.7 4.0 46 1.26
surface
D-prime 0.36 32.0 7.43 20.6 11.4 46 1.95
surface

Fig. 2. Stress-versus–strain curves of tested samples with TPMS topology. a

Specific energy of shock absorption at ε ¼ 30%.

82
M.M. Sychov et al.
Fig. 3. Dependence of the specific impact absorption energy on deformation.
Fig. 4. Dependence of the effective energy of shock absorption on
deformation.
Fig. 5. Dependence of specific strength on the infill.
the middle axes of the figure and well reflect the features of the shape of
the object. There are various methods to construct such graph and, based
on the results of skeletonization of the figure, different methods can be
used to distinguish various features for solving the problem of classifi-
cation of figure shapes [18]. For TPMS, the results of skeletonization are
given in Ref. [19]. From the parameters proposed in Ref. [19], correla-
tion with mechanical properties were observed only for the following
parameters: the total length of the arches L and the number of arches
meeting at the nodes n. Then we can introduce the effective parameter K:
K ¼ φ⋅L⋅n (7)
Fig. 6 shows the dependence of the mechanical characteristics of the
83
Acta Astronautica 150 (2018) 81–84
Fig. 6. Dependences of the mechanical characteristics of the samples (a –
ultimate strength, b – specific energy of impact absorption at ε ¼ 30%, and c is
the nominal relative deformation) on K value.
samples on the value of the parameter K, and confirms the validity of its
use for prediction of the mechanical properties of structures with a
complex topology.
In general, from the results obtained, it can be concluded that for
nonrestorable energy absorbers and protective systems, Schwarz dia-
mond type of TPMS and Neovius surface are suitable. For this applica-
tion, the primary properties of the material are mass (low density) and
strength (maximum tensile strength).
From Ref. [16], honeycomb elements have low density and high
deformation under load, responding to the properties of plastic material
[16]:
1) ρ1 ¼ 0.38 g/cm3, σ1  6 MPa, εlim1  55%; σsprc1  15.8 MPa
2) ρ2 ¼ 0.73 g/cm3, σ2  13 MPa, εlim2  28%. σspec2  17.8 MPa
Comparing the properties of honeycomb elements with the properties
of structures with the TPMS topology, one can conclude that the ad-
vantages of using the latter as energy absorbers are: for cellular elements
with ρ1 ¼ 0.38 g/cm3, comparable to the density of the primary D-sur-
face, the value of the specific tensile strength is 23% less than the value of
the same parameter of TPMS. Higher strength honeycomb bodies have a
significantly higher density and a lower value of ultimate strain. It should
be noted that unlike honeycomb structures, the materials studied here
have a substantially smaller anisotropy of properties.
M.M. Sychov et al.
4. Conclusion
Samples were made with the topology of triply periodic surfaces of
minimal energy by 3D printing of plastic. The strength and energy-
absorbing characteristics of the samples were measured.
It is shown that the fabricated structures have advantages over con-
ventional honeycomb elements when used as a shock absorbing layer
that will accept the shock load.
Acknowledgments
This work was carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of
Education and Science of Russian Federation in the framework of the
state task N 10.8003.2017/8.9 in the priority direction development of
science, technology and technics.
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