Optimization of the crushing characteristics of triangulated aluminum beverage cans

In this study, a cylindrical shell body of the aluminum cans is triangulated and optimized for being folded down easily and safely for recycling. The triangulated cylindrical shell is constructed by a family of triangular surfaces based on one set of helical strips and circles lying on a cylindrical side surface. The intersections of helical strips and circles are used as the vertexes of the triangular surfaces. By changing the helical angle of the strips, the number of the strips, and the number of the circles, various triangulated cylindrical shells with different crushing characteristics can be developed. On the basis of the numerical simulation, the minimization problem of the crushing force of the triangulated cylindrical shells is solved using the crashworthiness maximization technique for tubular structures that combines the techniques of design of experiment, response surface approximation as well as usual mathematical programming.