A Study of the Effect of Squareness of the Corrugated Box on its Box Compression Strength

Abstract— Packaging plays a significant role to provide safety to the products. At the time of storage and transportation, cartons are stacked one above the other and subjected to compressive forces which lead to the crumbling of corrugated boxes. Box design is an important perimeter to consider while manufacturing of the boxes to make sure the box compression strength of the boxes satisfies the requirement. In this paper, we study the effect of keeping the box square in shape irrespective of the height, on the compression strength of the box when compared to a rectangular box (non square) of the same perimeter. This may help us in making a more informed design decision when it comes to production of corrugated boxes.

Keywords— Box compression strength, Box design, Box Squareness, Corrugated boxes, Box failure

I. INTRODUCTION

The box compression strength (physical protection) depends on a number of factors: • The structural design of the carton, i.e. size and dimensions, supporting elements in the carton design, flap design, and loading direction. • Whether the contents support the package or not. • Types of secondary (transport) packaging. • Transport, storage methods and conditions (palletisation, stacking, climatic conditions). • Material properties such as stiffness and compression strength of the paperboard [3]. While some of the points above point to the conditions which occur after the delivery of the manufactured box to the client- like weather conditions, shipping method or type of secondary package and may not be in control of the industry that is in charge of manufacturing the carton boxes, the first and last points, which correspond to the box shape and material properties respectively are among the key things over which the box manufacturer can have control in the industry itself. Precision of the design of the box and more control over the material properties of the raw goods used to manufacture the boxes can lead to an increase in the box compression strength of the box which signifies better box performance in the practical scenarios.
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