Multiscale technique for the analysis of 3D-printed materials

The mechanical behaviour of structural elements made of 3D-printed materials is numerically investigated. With this aim a multiscale approach that allows to determine the macroscopic response, as depending on the material heterogeneity at the microscale level, is conceived. A non-linear laminate finite element that employs a reduced homogenization technique at each integration Gauss point is developed. In detail, the Piecewise Uniform Transformation Field Analysis is implemented. In order to validate the procedure, some numerical applications are developed. The obtained results are compared with evidence of experimental tensile and bending tests, available in literature. The application of a multiscale strategy, employing a reduced order method at the Gauss point level for the analysis of 3D-printed structural elements, could represent a good compromise in terms of accuracy of the results and computational efficiency.