SS316L, AlSi10Mg and NiTi highly deformable structures manufactured through laser powder bed fusion

This work introduces a thin-walled, modular flexible structure, the Highly Deformable Structure (HDS), specifically engineered to exhibit bending-dominated behavior and a deployable mechanism, enabling large deformations, high energy absorption, and superior flexibility. HDS specimens were fabricated through Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process using three different materials: SS316L, AlSi10Mg and NiTi. The study combined morphological analyses and mechanical characterizations to provide a comprehensive assessment of their performance. The results demonstrate that the HDS geometry accommodates significant deformations without structural failure, confirming the robustness of the design. Dynamic analyses conducted at 2 Hz showed that, among the tested alloys, NiTi exhibited the highest damping capacity, with a tanδ of 0.035 at 1% deformation amplitude, at a mean force of 20 N and at 5 °C (corresponding to austenite start temperature As). In comparison, SS316L and AlSi10Mg HDS cells also showed excellent dynamic response within the plastic regime at strain below 0.5%. Furthermore, the NiTi-based HDS benefits from shape memory effect, recovering over 50% of the applied deformation, which makes it particularly suitable for impact-resistance applications. These findings highlight the potential of LPBF in developing next-generation metallic components with tunable deformability, enabling advances in load bearing, damping and energy absorbing systems.