Measurement and analysis of vibration and shock levels for truck transport in Belgium with respect to packaged beer during transit

Abstract

Abstract Temperature, vibrations and shocks during transport and storage are believed responsible for beer flavour instability. The aim of current study is twofold: (1) to quantify the vibrations and shocks on packaged bottled beer when travelling on the Belgian road network, (2) quantify the impact of the vibrations and shocks in a preliminary experiment. The spectral density plots illustrate the importance of low-frequency vibrations and the similarities/discrepancies with international standards (ASTM-D4728 and ISO-13355). With increasing stack height, the amplitude of vibrations (5–25 Hz) intensifies in both corrugated boxes and plastic crates. Vibrations >25 Hz are amplified up to 9 times the original signal depending on the stack height of plastic crates. Corrugated boxes attenuate vibrations >25 Hz. Corrugated boxes absorb shocks and are preferred over plastic crates with respect to shocks and vibrations. In an exploratory experiment, vibrations and shocks induce the uptake of oxygen and the change of aldehydes (dependency initial oxygen content).