Testing and modelling of aluminium cans for prismatic lithium-ion cells under crash loading

The mechanical performance of a deep-drawn AA3003-H14 aluminium can, which serves as an external shell for vehicle lithium-ion cells, was investigated in the present study. The experimental program included material testing at different locations on the cell, at different orientations, at various strain rates, and component testing. The material was found to be mildly anisotropic and significantly strain rate sensitive. A suitable constitutive model was proposed and validated against experiments to describe the material’s mechanical behaviour. Quasi-static and dynamic tests were performed on the cans and compared with finite element simulations to validate the proposed material model. The limitations of large-scale models suitable for industrial applications were assessed. The results show how this large-scale model can be built for an accurate prediction of the crash behaviour of aluminium cans for prismatic lithium-ion cells.