Fiber reinforced lattice composites are lightweight attractive due to their high specific strength and specific stiffness.In the past 10 years,researchers developed three-dimensional（3D） lattice trusses and two-dimensional （2D） lattice grids by various methods including interlacing, weaving,interlocking,filament winding and molding hot- press.The lattice composites have been applied in the fields of radar cross-section reduction,explosive absorption and heat-resistance. In this paper,topologies of the lattice composites, their manufacturing routes,as well as their mechanical and multifunctional applications,were surveyed.
An equivalent continuum method only considering the stretching deformation of struts was used to study the in-plane stiffness and strength of planar lattice grid com- posite materials. The initial yield equations of lattices were deduced. Initial yield surfaces were depicted separately in different 3D and 2D stress spaces. The failure envelope is a polyhedron in 3D spaces and a polygon in 2D spaces. Each plane or line of the failure envelope is corresponding to the yield or buckling of a typical bar row. For lattices with more than three bar rows, subsequent yield of the other bar row after initial yield made the lattice achieve greater limit strength. The importance of the buckling strength of the grids was strengthened while the grids were relative sparse. The integration model of the method was used to study the nonlinear mechanical properties of strain hardening grids. It was shown that the integration equation could accurately model the complete stress-strain curves of the grids within small deformations.
