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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Static Compressive Behavior and Material Failure

Mechanism of Trabecular Tantalum Scaffolds

Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion-based Additive

Manufacturing

Jingzhou Yang 1,2,3† *, Hairui Gao , Dachen Zhang 2,3† , Xia Jin *, Faqiang Zhang , Shupei Zhang ,
1
2,3
1,†
1,4
Haishen Chen , Xiaopeng Li *
5
2,3
1 School of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, P.R. China
2 Shenzhen Dazhou Medical Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, P.R. China
3 Center of Biomedical Materials 3D Printing, National Engineering Laboratory for Polymer Complex Structure Additive
Manufacturing, Baoding, Hebei, P.R. China
4 Key Lab of Industrial Fluid Energy Conservation and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, Shandong, P.R.
China
5 School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia
† These authors contributed equally to this work

Abstract: Additively manufactured trabecular tantalum (Ta) scaffolds are promising bone repair materials for load-bearing
applications due to their good pore interconnectivity. However, a thorough mechanical behavior evaluation is required
before conducting animal studies and clinical research using these scaffolds. In this study, we revealed the compressive
mechanical behavior and material failure mechanism of trabecular tantalum scaffolds by compression testing, finite element
analysis (FEA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Trabecular tantalum scaffolds with porosities of 65%, 75%, and
85% were fabricated by laser powder bed fusion-based additive manufacturing. Porosity has a significant effect on their
compressive mechanical properties. As the porosity decreased from 85% to 65%, the compressive yield strength and elastic
modulus increased from 11.9 MPa to 35.7 MPa and 1.1 GPa to 3.0 GPa, respectively. Compression testing results indicate that
trabecular tantalum scaffolds demonstrate ductile deformation and excellent mechanical reliability. No macroscopic cracks
were found when they were subjected to strain up to 50%. SEM observations showed that material failure results from
tantalum strut deformation and fracture. Most microcracks occurred at conjunctions, whereas few of them appear on the
struts. FEA-generated compressive stress distribution and material deformation were consistent with experimental results.
Stress concentrates at strut conjunctions and vertical struts, where fractures occur during compression testing, indicating that
the load-bearing capability of trabecular tantalum scaffolds can be enhanced by strengthening strut conjunctions and vertical
struts. Therefore, additively manufactured trabecular tantalum scaffolds can be used in bone tissue reconstruction applications.

Keywords: Tantalum scaffold; Additive manufacturing; Bone repair; Compressive behavior; Finite element analysis;
Material failure

*Correspondence to: Jingzhou Yang, School of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao,
Shandong, P.R. China; yangjz@qut.edu.cn.; Xia Jin, School of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology,
Qingdao, Shandong, P.R. China; xia.jin@qut.edu.cn; Xiaopeng Li, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New
South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia; xiaopeng.li@unsw.edu.au

Received: August 26, 2021; Accepted: September 22, 2021; Published Online: October 29, 2021
Citation: Yang J, Gao H, Zhang D, et al., 2022, Static Compressive Behavior and Material Failure Mechanism of Trabecular Tantalum Scaffolds
Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion-based Additive Manufacturing. Int J Bioprint, 8(1):438. http:// doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v8i1.438

© 2021 Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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