In the pursuit of global energy conservation and emissions reductions, utilizing beverage cans as energy-absorbing components offers potential for a sustainable economy. This study examines the impact of foam filling on the crushing behaviors and energy absorption of various types of beverage cans. Quasi-static compression tests were conducted on five geometrically sized cans filled with three densities of polyurethane foam to study their deformation modes and calculate crashworthiness parameters within the effective stroke. Results show that empty beverage cans have lower energy absorption capacities, and deformation modes become less consistent as can size increases. Higher foam density leads to increased total energy absorption, a slight reduction in the effective compression stroke, and a tendency for specific energy absorption to initially increase and then decrease. Regarding crush behavior, smaller cans transition from a diamond mode to a concertina mode, while larger cans exhibit a columnar bending mode. Next, the coupling effect of energy absorption between foam and cans was analyzed so as to reveal the design method of energy-absorbing components. The specific energy absorption of smaller cans filled with polyurethane foam is superior to that of similar empty cans. These findings provide valuable insights for selecting next-generation sustainable energy absorption structures.

In this work, the effects of scanning strategies and printing temperature on mechanical properties and crush behaviors of columns manufactured using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique were studied. The results showed that scanning strategy and printing temperature had significant influences on mechanical response and deformation mode of the columns. The columns printed in different scanning strategies showed significant anisotropy due to the preferred orientation of short fibers during the printing process. The columns printed in a circular direction presented the highest compressive force response. The columns printed with carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide in a circular direction showed the final oblique fracture failure mode, in which there were fiber pull-out and matrix pull-apart on fracture surfaces. Different indicators were also used to evaluate the mechanical properties and crushing characteristics of the columns. The carbon fiber reinforcement columns presented the highest energy absorption, and the glass fiber reinforcement columns showed the highest elastic modulus and yield strength. The results indicated that the scanning strategy and printing temperature not only influenced the elastic modulus and yield strength, but also affected the energy absorption performances of the columns.