Characterization and enhancement of quasi-static and shear mechanical properties of 3D printed lightweight SiOC lattices: Effects of structural design and parameters

Ceramic structures have attracted extensive attention due to their excellent high temperature properties, low density and function application after structural design. Herein, six different ceramic lattices based on struts and triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) sheet lattices were designed and fabricated by digital light processing (DLP) using polymer precursor. The effects of unit cell size, relative density and other parameters on the compressive and shear properties of the structure were studied in detail. A structure optimized from Gyroid was put forward, which realized excellent mechanical properties under 15% low relative density (0.25 g/cm³). Results also suggested that the TPMS sheet lattices were more suitable for bearing under low relative density and the struts-based lattices were more sensitive to the parameters change, 20% is an important node where the mechanical properties of the structure decline significantly. Design of the structure in the loading direction can effectively improve the mechanical properties. This study provides a new basis for structural design under low relative density, which will aid in the further improvement of traditional structures and the development of the application of ceramic materials in mechanical structures.