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Evaluating hardness and the S-test, TAPPI Journal March 2019

ABSTRACT: The corrugated industry typically quantifies crush resistance using the Concora corrugated medium test (CMT) on fluted medium or flat crush on combined board. These tests compress the materials until the point of complete failure of the flutes. Combined board elastically resists crushing forces until a certain point, the hardness of the structure, while additional load causes permanent damage and deformation. This study investigates how hardness can be measured directly from a load curve collected during CMT (or flat crush) testing and how it varies throughout the North American paper supply. It also explores how hardness corre-lates with the values obtained from the newly developed S-test. This new test method deserves further study as a potentially more appropriate specification for crush resistance of corrugated medium.

Progroup Turns 25, Paper360º March/April 2018

Progroup Turns 25, Paper360º March/April 2018

How Can Digitalization Help Corrugated Producers?, Paper360º May/June 2023

Assessing variation in package modeling, TAPPI Journal April 2021

ABSTRACT: Predictions from empirical models are affected by variability in the input parameters for the data set used to build the models. For corrugated boxes, the difference between actual and modeled compression strength creates a real cost associated with box production, often resulting in boxes that may need to be over-designed to compensate for a lack of model precision. No work to date has attempted to assess the limitation in these compression estimates due to input parameter testing variability. In this paper we approach that problem, initially for the McKee equation and then conceptually for other box models. For our industry to do a better job at meeting the needs of our corrugated packaging customers, we need to reduce the variation in the tests we all rely on, particularly for evaluating material strength (edge crush test [ECT]) and package compression performance (box compression test [BCT]).

Influence of pallet pattern on top-to-bottom compression performance of unitized loads, TAPPI Journal November 2021

ABSTRACT: Environmental scaling factors estimate a corrugated container’s ability to withstand various conditions it will encounter during the storage and distribution process. In this project, we examined the compressive resistance of unitized loads using differing pallet stacking patterns. To simulate real-world failure scenarios in our laboratory tests, we used two different nominal board grades of single-wall C-flute regular slotted containers loaded with a plywood panel and bagged salt to direct the failure location to the bottom of the stack. Our results showed that the columnar aligned pattern provided the greatest compressive resistance and the interlocked stacking arrangement yielded the lowest of the patterns evaluated. Based on the study results, we calculated box compression retention multipliers for each pattern and compared them to scaling factors published by the Fibre Box Association.

A New Vision for Industry Leader IP, Paper360º September/October 2023

Chemicals Play Key Role in Food Packaging, Paper360º January/February 2020

Chemicals Play Key Role in Food Packaging, Paper360º January/February 2020

Influence of pallet pattern on top-to-bottom compression performance of unitized loads, TAPPI Journal

ABSTRACT: Environmental scaling factors estimate a corrugated container’s ability to withstand various conditions it will encounter during the storage and distribution process. In this project, we examined the compressive resistance of unitized loads using differing pallet stacking patterns. To simulate real-world failure scenarios in our laboratory tests, we used two different nominal board grades of single-wall C-flute regular slotted containers loaded with a plywood panel and bagged salt to direct the failure location to the bottom of the stack. Our results showed that the columnar aligned pattern provided the greatest compressive resistance and the interlocked stacking arrangement yielded the lowest of the patterns evaluated. Based on the study results, we calculated box compression retention multipliers for each pattern and compared them to scaling factors published by the Fibre Box Association.

Green Bay Packaging Keeps Safety in the Family, Paper360º January/February 2020

Green Bay Packaging Keeps Safety in the Family, Paper360º January/February 2020

Trends to Watch in Pulp Integration, Paper360º May/June 2018

Trends to Watch in Pulp Integration, Paper360º May/June 2018