Piercing of Aluminum Beverage Cans

An LS-DYNA finite element model was developed to analyze the structural behavior of an aluminum beverage can subjected to a piercing load applied to the sidewall of the can. Physical testing was performed to help verify the simulation accuracy. The piercing was intended to simulate the damage to a can that might occur during the manufacturing process. Impacts of 5 m/s and 10 m/s were performed with both blunt (flat) and sharp (45 tip) steel rods. It was found that separated elements with tied nodal constraints more accurately represent the behavior of the can subjected to a piercing load than merged element nodes. It was also found that the more crushing a can undergoes before piercing occurs, the more energy the can material absorbs. However, there is an upper limit to the crushing based on the speed and shape of the impactor.