Mechanical Performance of a Steel-Polymer Biphasic Lattice Structure

Interpenetrating Phase Composites (IPCs) with biomimetic properties are promising materials for strengthening orthopaedic implants while also increasing their biocompatibility. Thanks to additive manufacturing techniques, lattice structures can be employed to develop biomaterials with controlled architectures, enabling the replication of human bone structures and offering advantages in terms of strength-to-weight ratio. This study investigates the behaviour of a bi-material steelpolymer lattice structure, observing that the epoxy resin increases the mechanical strength of gyroid, leaving the lightweight properties unchanged. Moreover, an equivalent constitutive model was calibrated, and a homogenization procedure based on the Representative Volume Element theory was applied. The effect on mechanical strength due to the 316L powder dispersed within the epoxy resin was investigated as well.