A theoretical and experimental study on corrugated paperboard crushing under quasi‐static loadings

Abstract

This paper presents 2 mathematical models to predict the initial peak stress and the plateau stress of corrugated paperboard which is simplified and regarded as the orthotropic plate under longitudinal compression. The resultant stress‐strain curve exhibits initial stiffening stage and a long plateau stage, where the initial peak stress determining the edgewise crush resistance of the board and most impact energy will be absorbed by the long plateau stage. By analyzing the elastic buckling of the board wall, a model of predicting the initial peak stress was obtained, while the plateau stress model was developed based on the gradual process of compression for corrugated board and energy conservation principle. Moreover, experiments were carried out to corroborate the presented model by comparing the predicted value with that by experiments, showing overall good agreement. It can be concluded that the proposed models can be applied for design of corrugated containers and cushioning packaging by corrugated paperboard.