In this paper, a novel dual architecture phase lattice (DPL) structure consisting with hard and soft phases is proposed, and their mechanical properties as well as the deformation features under compression are investigated. Firstly, two different types of basic cubic cells are selected as the constitution phases, and the DPLs with different arrangements are then constructed by additive manufacturing. Quasi-static compression tests and numerical simulations are performed to explore the deformation patterns and stress-strain responses. The compressive strength, plateau stress and the specific energy absorption of the DPLs are characterized. The effects of base material fracture, rod diameter and the cell arrangements on the mechanical responses are explored. Results show that the deformation and failure initiate in the matrix phase and trigger the embedding of the reinforcing phase into the crushed regions. The fracture of the rods results in a lower stress level and more serious fluctuations in the stress-strain responses. Increasing the rod diameter is an effective approach for enhancing the compressive strength and specific energy absorption. Introducing appropriate agreements of reinforcement phases can result in 112% and 37% increments for the compression strength and specific energy absorption, respectively. The findings of this work can facilitate the designs of lattice structures with outstanding mechanical properties and energy absorption performances.

Lattices were lightweight load-bearing and energy absorption structures, while the traditional designs with a periodic arrangement of single-type cells restricted the design domains. In this work, novel two-phase hybrid strategies based on different types and numbers of thin-plate cubic cells were proposed, and quasi-static compression experiments and finite element numerical simulations were performed to investigate their energy absorption characteristics and deformation mechanisms. The effects of the relative density and load direction on the compression responses were also explored. The results showed that SC-BCC lattices exhibited higher specific energy absorption than conventional lattices and other practical metamaterials, and changing the number and arrangement of cells of the hybrid structures achieved better mechanical properties in a specific loading direction. The specific energy absorption capacity of the hybrid plate-lattice can be up to 4.30 J/g in the present work, which is higher than the SEA capacity of conventional aluminum lattice and TPU truss lattice structure. These findings provided a novel structural design strategy for fabricating the plate-lattice architectures in conjunction with additive manufacturing.