AccScience Publishing / MSAM / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/MSAM026220050
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Comparative deformation indices of FDM-printed PLA-LW structures across three infill topologies: Secant stiffness, apparent strain, and specific toughness

Ahmad Alshwawra1* Mohammad Hani Alomari1
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1 Mechanical & Maintenance Engineering Department, School of Applied Technical Sciences, German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan
Received: 31 May 2026 | Revised: 6 August 2026 | Accepted: 6 August 2026 | Published online: 20 August 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Most characterisation work on fused deposition modelling-printed lightweight polylactic acid (PLA-LW) focuses on peak load resistance, leaving the pre-fracture deformation regime underexplored. This regime governs stiffness, deformation tolerance, and energy absorption per unit volume, and is decisive for deflection-limited and impact-tolerant lightweight components. In this study, three comparative mechanical indices were extracted from 114 quasi-static tensile records spanning Phase 1 (Cubic; eight temperatures; n = 6 per temperature) and Phase 2 (Cubic, Gyroid, Sub-Cubic; two temperatures and two flow rates; n = 3–6 per condition) at 20% infill ratio: the secant stiffness index Es, the apparent strain index εapp, and the specific toughness index U/ρ. Two Gyroid F80/240°C specimens were excluded after stress–strain curve inspection revealed grip-slip artefacts, evidence as early-loading plateaus in which crosshead displacement is taken up by specimen seating and slip at the grips rather than by gauge-section deformation. The remaining three valid specimens at this condition were retained. Phase 1 ANOVA confirmed a highly significant temperature effect on Es (F(7,40) = 15.13, p < 0.001). Near the foaming onset (210°C), Es peaked at 117.4 ± 10.7 MPa while εapp reached its descriptive minimum (F(7,40) = 1.80, p = 0.114 overall; F(6,35) = 1.07, p = 0.400 excluding 190°C). In Phase 2, flow-rate effects on Es were significant for the Cubic (t(19.4) = 16.37, p < 0.001, d = 6.68) and Sub-Cubic (t(19.4) = 7.25, p < 0.001, d = 2.96). The Gyroid showed no significant flow-rate reversal (t(15.8) = −1.70, p = 0.108); however, both Gyroid flow-rate conditions exhibited a significant temperature sensitivity (F70: p = 0.006; F80: p = 0.005). Deformation-regime indices diverged substantially from strength trends; no single topology ranked highest across all three dimensions simultaneously. Future work should validate these comparative indices using extensometer or digital image correlation measurements.

Keywords
Lightweight polylactic acid
Fused deposition modelling
Secant stiffness index
Apparent strain index
Specific toughness index
Infill topology
Gyroid
Triply periodic minimal surface
Funding
The publication of this article was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the German Jordanian University.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Materials Science in Additive Manufacturing, Electronic ISSN: 2810-9635 Published by AccScience Publishing