Porosity Dependence of the Effective Modulus of PCL Gyroid Scaffolds

Abstract

This study quantified the effect of geometric porosity on the axial effective modulus of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) sheet Gyroid scaffolds. Five finite element models with target porosities of 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, and 75% were generated from a periodic implicit surface and compressed in Abaqus Standard 2024. The PCL was modeled as isotropic and linearly elastic, with a Young’s modulus of 350 MPa and a Poisson’s ratio of 0.30. The effective modulus decreased from 72.96 to 23.28 MPa across the porosity range, a reduction of 68.1%. A power law fitted the five computed values with R² = 0.998 in logarithmic space. Mesh refinement altered the final modulus by less than 2.5% for the cases checked at their finest resolution. These results provide a geometry-specific interpolation for idealized finite specimens; experimental validation remains necessary before predicting the behavior of printed scaffolds.