In this article, the energy absorption features of single- and bi-layer deep-drawn cups (S- and B-cups, respectively) under a quasi-static axial loading are investigated experimentally and numerically. The S-cups were made of 304L stainless steel and explosively welded B-cups were composed of aluminum and 304L stainless steel layers. A multi-objective optimization was performed on specific energy absorption and initial peak force based on the polynomial response surface method. Furthermore, to compare the energy absorption features of deep-drawn cups, two groups of 304L stainless steel tubes (with the same mass or the same height as the S-cups) were axially compressed. The experimental results indicated that the S-cups experienced total energy absorption and mean crush force approximately 24% and 51% greater than those of tubes with the same mass and thickness, respectively. Furthermore, the total efficiency and specific total efficiency of the S-cups were approximately 0.23 and 1.82 times greater than those of tubes with the same height and thickness. Moreover, the energy absorbing effectiveness factor of B-cups was approximately twice of the S-cup.

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