Mechanical properties of the idealized inverse opal lattice

Abstract

The mechanical properties of an idealized inverse opal lattice have been investigated using analytical and FE formulation. It is a cubic lattice structure and it’s unit-cell consists of 32 struts. The three independent elastic constants are calculated through a unit-cell analysis using finite element method applying periodic boundary conditions. It is found that elastic and shear moduli vary quadratically with relative density of the lattice under uni-axial stressing and pure shear deformation whereas the bulk modulus varies linearly under hydrostatic loading. The plastic collapse mechanisms under plane stress, multi-axial shear, and axisymmetric loading are also analysed for this structure using the upper bound theorem of plasticity. These results are then verified using FE simulations. We also report on the buckling of the lattice under hydrostatic loadin