High-Throughput Screening of 3D-Printed Architected Materials Inspired by Crystal Lattices: Procedure, Challenges, and Mechanical Properties

The search for load-bearing, impact-resistant, and energy-absorbing cellular materials is of central interest in many fields including aerospace, automotive, civil, sports, packaging, and biomedical. In order to achieve the desired characteristic geometry and/or topology, a perspective approach may be used, such as utilization of atomic models as input data for 3D printing of macroscopic objects. In this paper, we suggest a new approach for the development of advanced cellular materials—crystallomorphic design based on selection of perspective crystal structures and modeling of their electron density distribution and utilization of isoelectronic surfaces as a generatrix for 3D-printed cellular materials. The ATLAS database, containing more than 10 million existing and predicted zeolites, was used as a source of data. Herein, we introduced a high-throughput screening of a data array of crystalline compounds. Several perspective designs were identified, implemented by 3D printing, and showed high characteristics. A linear correlation was found between the strength of the samples and the minimum angle and minimum bond length in the simplified crystal structures. A new cellular geometry with reinforcement struts and increased strength was discovered. This property was found by us independent of the other works, in which the cellular structures were developed by an explicit method. Thus, the developed approach holds perspective for the design of new cellular structures with increased characteristics and for the prediction of their properties.