Bragg Edge imaging of strains in aperiodically ordered, SLM manufactured honeycombs

Mechanical meta-materials, such as honeycombs and lattice structures have seen an insurgence of interest as a result of the design and manufacturing freedoms now possible due to additive technologies. One specific driver for these topologies is to create structures with low elastic modulus for orthopaedic implant applications. Many designs suffer from anisotropic mechanical performance and as a result are difficult to integrate into components. Here, a new class of mechanical meta-material based on aperiodic tilings are to be studied. Initial findings show unprecedented design flexibility in terms of isotropic mechanical properties for such structures, however the local stress states of these structure are not understood. This proposed experiment will elucidate the local strain state using Bragg edge imaging, to validate a new highly efficient model and to take the structures a step closer to possible adaption into application