PACKAGING FEATURE


Validating the strength of packaging with transportation testing


By Dylan Keane, Laboratory Lead, Nelipak Laboratory Services


Transportation simulation is a vitally important test, and consists of several important steps


C


ompanies take great care to ensure their products are in perfect condition when they are ready to ship. However, as soon as shippers leave the site, the product is outside the company’s control and can be handled less than ideally during transport. It is essential their products are protected in a strong packaging system to ensure they remain undamaged even through rough transportation. Transportation simulation is a vitally important test, commonly based on the ASTM Standard D4169 (Performance Testing of Shipping Containers and Systems). It involves a series of assessments designed to simulate various transportation stresses placed on shipper boxes during a worst-case transportation cycle to ensure that products remain fit for use. The first half of Distribution Cycle 13 (DC13) simulates international transportation by both air and motor. The first step of this testing is climatic conditioning, a simulation of weather conditions of the shipper boxes. Whether shipping to hot and humid tropics or


freezing tundra, it is vital to know a shipper can maintain its integrity and protect the product. The next step of testing is Schedule A Handling, which is based on Standard ASTM D5276. This test involves dropping the shippers from a fixed height to simulate shippers which are dropped or fall during transportation. Drops are performed from a range of sides and edges of the shippers to test for every type of fall. The shipper is then thoroughly examined for signs of damage. After, Schedule C Vehicle Stacking is performed, which is based on ASTM Standard D642. This test simulates the effects of a shipper box having other shippers packed on top of it, which can put significant weight on the shipper and damage the product within. The test involves calculating a weight that the shipper may be exposed to and placing it on the shipper to see if any damage is caused by the weight pressing down. The next step of the DC13 is Loose Load Vibration Schedule F, which involves the vibration of a shipper box to simulate


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the shock it experiences during any form of transportation. Shipper boxes are vibrated on different box orientations to fully test the ability of the shippers to protect its contents. Following the first vibration test, Schedule I Low pressure testing (also known as High-Altitude testing) is done. This test examines the effects of certain high-altitude transportation (such as air transport or along high mountain roads). The reduction in pressure in those conditions can cause packaging materials to inflate due to the pressure difference. Shippers are placed in a chamber with reduced pressure for an hour to see if the packaging can withstand the pressure change. It is only required for non- porous packaging materials as porous/ breathable materials can allow air to pass through them so changes in pressure do not affect them. Next, a Vehicle Vibration Schedule E test takes place, which is similar to Loose Load Vibration. However, this test specifically simulates the vibration known to occur in certain transport types. Depending on what vehicle a shipper may be transported in, different combinations can be selected, and these tests are run for several hours. The next to last test that may be completed is Concentrated Impact Schedule J, only necessary for single- walled shippers (double or triple-walled shippers can be exempt). This involves a large cylinder rod being raised and striking the faces of the shipper and is used to determine if the box remains undamaged following a concentrated collision with another object. If the rod pierces into the inner shipper, the shipper fails the test. The final step in a transportation simulation for DC13 is another round of drop testing, which are different from the second step, as a new set of sides and edges of the shipper boxes are tested to see what damage is caused after all the other tests have been completed. The final drop of this sequence is the largest, at double the height of all the others. All of these tests can be part of a


transportation simulation. However, depending on a customer’s requirements, the tests that are needed may vary and some parameters may be different.


Nelipak Laboratory Services cla-labservices@nelipak.com www.nelipak.com


IRISH MANUFACTURING | APRIL 2021 27


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