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Virtual Simulation of

ISTA Unit Load Tests

ADVANCED FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS (FEA) TECHNIQUES ARE MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO PERFORM VIRTUAL COMPUTER SIMULATIONS OF STANDARD INDUSTRY UNIT LOAD TESTS.

These methods allow transportation and warehouse stacking performance of unitized loads to be studied earlier in the package development process, before physical samples are available, with commensurate reductions in risk, cost, and speed to market.

packaging materials and are happy to offer their expertise. In situations where multiple design choices are available, it is often not difficult or expensive to prepare samples and run tests to measure the actual performance in, for example, a box compression or drop test. Package design decisions associated with unit load performance have not always been so easy to assess as those for individual cartons or boxes. Unit load tests require larger quantities of product and packaging to conduct and can be more difficult to perform. Products may be packaged in unit loads for extended periods of time and travel through most of the distribution system in that form. The International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), ASTM, ISO and other organizations have developed tests for evaluating various attributes of unit load performance but it is still necessary to have one or more unit loads available to conduct these tests. The same is true of the stack-and-ship tests that are sometimes used to judge how a product will perform in the distribution environment.

More Information Means Better Decisions

The development of a successful packaging system requires information about the fragility of the product being shipped and knowledge about the hazards of the distribution environment. This information must then be used to make informed decisions regarding cushioning materials, primary boxes or packaging, and shipping boxes or cases. For high-volume products that are typically transported in larger quantities, unit load design adds an extra layer of packaging that must be considered. Each new package design project starts with considerable assistance in the form of an extensive body of packaging industry knowledge and experience to draw upon. Many suppliers are available who have developed a range of excellent

In our packaging work at Stress Engineering Services we find that the cost and time required to evaluate changes to unit load design present an obstacle to making smart changes. Everyone wants to reduce material usage, or use different materials, to save costs. The desire to make more sustainable packaging choices has added a further motivation to continuously reevaluate packaging systems and implement changes. When considering a potential unit load design change, however, the cost and time to conduct a thorough evaluation can be daunting. All too often the result is: 1. Change is not made at all 2. Change is made without enough understanding The first outcome obviously results in never realizing the potential benefits. The second runs the risk of being detrimental to the organization if the new design proves to be unsuitable. Damage claims can increase and packaging costs may actually go up to implement a fix if the design doesnt work as intended. Figure 1 shows the results of a finite element model simulating a stack of two unit loads consisting of corrugated boxes. The left image shows buckling in the box sidewalls. The color code in the right image shows the stress in the corrugated panels with blue being low stress and red indicating high stress. An advantage of techniques like finite element analysis is the ability to expose inner features of the packaging system which are not usually visible and examine their behavior. In Figure 2 the contact pressure between product layers is shown which highlights the more highly-stressed load path through the case sidewalls and corners. Compressive loads can occur while a unit load is being transported if products are stacked atop one another in a trailer, rail car or intermodal container. When this is true there can be a combination of compression and vibratory loads present.

figure 1: Finite element

model of stacked unit loads of corrugated cases

Physics-Based Approach
To try to be more predictive about the effects of changes in unit load design, and mitigate the associated risks, we have found value in applying a physics-based approach to understanding packaging performance. This has involved the use of tools ranging from hand calculations based on the theories of classical mechanics to computer-based simulation techniques such as finite element analysis. This paper discusses recent work with finite element analysis to simulate ISTA unit load tests. Most transport packaging hazards fall in the general categories of Compression Vibration Impact Shock Common industry test standards for packages reflect these hazards in the nature of the tests they prescribe. Impact, in the sense of being struck by another sliding or falling object, is not so common a hazard for unit loads as it is for small parcels or other packages that are individually handled or sorted. The typical unit load environment is more complex than might be suggested by the simple descriptions of compression, shock, and vibration and this is reflected in the ISTA tests for unit loads.

figure 2: Detail of stress in corrugated boxes from stacking of unit loads

A further consideration for unit load compression is the timedependence of material properties that may be significant during warehouse storage. This type of creep behavior can be an issue with corrugated fiberboard boxes as well as plastic bottles and other types of packaging. Over time, the progressive crushing or collapse of packages can result in warehouse unit load stacks shifting and leaning. In some situations this can reach a point where the center of gravity (CG) of the stack has shifted so far that it becomes unstable and risks collapsing.

Compression
In the most general sense, compression testing involves determining the force required to crush a package or unit load. Alternately, unit load tests like those in ISTA Test Procedure 3E, Unitized Loads of Same Product, serve to verify that a unit load can support the compressive loads it is expected to experience in service.

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1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 TIME (days) 210 240 270 300 330 360
Measured CG Extrapolation

CG CHANGE (in)

figure 3: Stacked unit load CG shift with time

Figure 3 shows measurements of unit load CG shift for 35 days and extrapolates those results out to one year. With information about the product geometry and stack height it is possible to estimate whether such movement will lead to a unit load stack that is dangerously unstable. tions. Figure 5 shows results from a rotational edge drop of a unit load. For comparison, a vertical drop is shown in Figure 6. Pure vertical drops of unit loads can sometimes be difficult to perform and this simulation illustrates an advantage of analytical methods in that they can allow difficult tests to be safely investigated.

Shock
Shock can be experienced from being roughly handled with a fork truck, sharp jolts in the back of a truck, rail car coupling or other events. Clearly shock can occur in both the vertical and horizontal directions and both are addressed in ISTA 3E. FEA results from a simulation of a horizontal shock event are shown in Figure 4. ISTA 3E addresses shock with a rotational edge drop test. A vertical drop or rotational flat drop might also be appropriate in some situa-

figure 5: Stress in boxes at impact during unit load

rotational edge drop test

figure 6: Stress in boxes at impact during unit load figure 4: Stress on face of boxes at 42 in/sec horizontal impact
8 vertical drop test

Vibration
Vibration is, like shock, a multidimensional phenomenon; though the packaging industry has focused on vertical vibration for many years. Studies of vibration in the transportation environment have shown the most significant vibration to be vertically oriented and this has been the most severe loading direction for the ubiquitous corrugated fiberboard box. As packaging is reduced to save costs and use less material, some of the stability provided by full corrugated cases is being lost and unit loads are being encountered which have considerably reduced horizontal stability. Horizontal vibration can then play a more important role in assessing overall unit load performance in a vibratory environment. Finite element modeling can be used to simulate vibration but it is not easy to predict damage and much of the success of the method depends on the details of the specific package design. Single axis or multiple axis vibration can be simulated.

Proceed With Caution

It is very important to point out that these models have gaps in knowledge and capability that keep them from being as accurate and true-to-life as we might want them to be. All such models depend heavily on having knowledge about the properties of the materials that they are simulating. It is not possible to model every aspect of a unit load in exquisite detail. Some of the properties and behaviors they exhibit are simply difficult to measure and determine with certainty. The images and animations that can be produced are terrific, but dont let yourself be misled by the pretty pictures. Some key limitations to current modeling technology as it applies to packaging and unit loads are in the areas of manufacturing variability and damage accumulation. It is easy to make perfect products and packages in a computer. The greater challenge is often to make the computer model realistically imperfect. After all, not every box and package is identical.

Simpler Means More Cost-Effective

FEA models can be constructed with varying levels of detail depending on the nature and size of the model, the desired outcome, the information available as inputs, and the computational resources available to run the model. Highly detailed models can be time-consuming to construct and take a long time to run. A key factor in obtaining a satisfactory solutionwhich is also costeffectiveis to identify valid simplifications to the model which reduce the complexity but preserve the overall behavior. An example might be reducing the level of detail on the inner product or even representing it as a simple shape with an appropriate mass. If the goal of a particular analysis is to understand the gross behavior of the unit load, then the solution will be little changed by leaving out small details. All of the ISTA unit load tests are good candidates for careful simplification. Corrugated fiberboard is such a common and widely used material; it may come as a surprise to learn that it can be difficult to predict how and when it will fail. Many packaging tests are, of course, not a single test to failure but repetitive drops, shakes and squeezes that collectively represent the distribution environment and progressively damage the package. Excellent research has been done to understand how damage forms and develops, but the technology to fully predict failure is still evolving.

Modeling is Still Modeling

Finite element modeling of transport packaging is not in any way a substitute for testing and experimentation. It is not magic, it is not perfect, it is just a tool. Like all tools, it must be used carefully and knowledgeably to get the most benefit while staying out of trouble. Analysis and testing complement each other very nicely and together can achieve more than either can alone.

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