Architectured materials obtained through additive manufacturing

Many industrial applications require materials with specific, i.e. improved, properties relative to their density, particularly in the transport, defense and biomedical sectors. Architectural materials are an emerging class of advanced materials, extending the field of possibilities in terms of functional properties. The term "architected material" applies to any heterogeneous material obtained through a design process aimed at fulfilling a specific specification, through functionality, behavior or performance, induced by a controlled morphological arrangement between several phases.

A distinction must be made between natural and artificial architectural materials. Although the study of the former is very fruitful in conceptual terms, with the adoption, for example, of a bioinspired approach, this article is restricted to the analysis of the latter, designed and produced in a controlled way by materials engineering.

Since the early 2000s, there has been strong growth in applied research into architected materials, in parallel with the development of new material processing techniques, notably additive manufacturing technologies. Combined with design approaches based on numerical topological optimization methods, these new manufacturing technologies have made it possible to literally architect materials at different scales.

There has been a great deal of industrial experimentation with this kind of approach to designing tailor-made materials in terms of properties, based on a specific morphological architecture. They justify an interest in formalizing these attempts, which are often based on engineering know-how. This formalization is becoming a necessity in a context of digitization of all industrial processes, both design and manufacturing.

Against this backdrop, this article aims to provide a state-of-the-art review of the various steps involved in obtaining architecturally engineered materials via additive processes: design methodologies, topological optimization, behavior modeling, additive manufacturing processes. It also discusses the major issues involved in the development and industrial use of these architectural materials.