GSB 570 - Problem Sets Flashcards
(1) T/F – Because the forces placed on a product are much greater in shock than vibration,
damage occurs much more often during drops than transportation.
False, for a certified package usually the expected shocks are already considered in the
designing portion of package development. Fatigue caused due to vibration is, however,
more unpredictable and hence difficult to simulate in a lab and hence damage may occur
due to fatigue caused by continuous small level shocks
(1) What do you expect the outside temperature and pressure to be on top of a mountain
(10,000’)?
Lapse Rate: for every 1000 feet increase in elevation, the pressure drops 0.5 psi and the
temperature drops by 3.5 °F.
So at 10,000 feet elevation, the temperature will be 10,000 *
- 5/1000 = 35 °F below that at the foot of the mountain and the pressure will be 10,000 *
- 5/1000 = 5 psi below that at the foot of the mountain.
(1) T/F – Static charge build up occurs more often during compression than vibration.
False, static charge build up occurs more due to vibration and occurs more during winter
due to low relative humidity conditions.
(1) How would you explain the presence of rust on engine blocks which are loaded rust-free on
rail cars in Canada in the winter and arrive in Florida in this condition?
Due to condensation and also possibly due to “green pallets”
(1) Are the various ASTM, ISO, DOT and ISTA standards voluntary or required?
All the standards mentioned are voluntary, except for DOT since it relates to hazardous
materials.
(1) Explain the meaning of all the letters and numbers in the following test standard: ASTM D
3833/D 3833M-88 (93)Є1
ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials D: Committee D-10 which deals specifically with packaging 3833: number designation, 3833M: metric equivalent 88: year adopted (93): year revised Є1: footnote for the standard
(1) “Conditioning” of samples for ASTM tests almost always takes place at what temperature and
relative humidity?
Standard conditioning according to ASTM is done at 73 °F and 50% RH
(1) What is the meaning of the following “error” terms found in many ASTM standards:
repeatability
reproducibility
bias?
Repeatability: variation in results when using same operator, equipment, procedure and materials
Reproducibility: different operators and equipment (maybe)
Bias: when test method affects results e.g., clamp pressure in thickness measurement
(1) In general, do you expect packaging costs for hazardous materials to be more or less than for non-hazardous ones? For individually shipped product (LTL) to be more or less than for a unit load (TL)?
Packaging cost would be more for hazardous materials and for LTL shipments
(1) How does instrumentation during performance testing help to economize the design?
Instrumentation helps identify maximum loads packages may experience. Hence packaging requirements may be adjusted.
(1) Describe a simple way to check the calibration of a compression tester.
A compression tester acts somewhat similar to a weighing scale. Place a calibrated weight on the platen with the load cell (on top of the bottom platen in our lab) and compare the force value displayed. The two values should match.
(1) Would you expect to use a load tracker to simulate a dead load more for a plastic bottle or aluminum can?
A load tracker continuously monitors the output from the load cell and then automatically
starts the platen moving again if it senses a drop in the load. Due to relaxation tendencies
being greater in plastic than metal, a load cell would be required more for it.
(1) You perform a compression test on a package without using a load tracker. You find that
when you stop the machine once it gets to 500 lbs, the load falls off over time to 450 lbs. if
you wanted to maintain a level of 500 lbs, you could overshoot the mark and then wait for
the load to relax to 500 lbs. How much would you overshoot the 500 lb mark before you stop
the machine?
Retention = 450/500 = 0.9 or 90%
Overshoot to 500/0.9 = 556 lb
(1) What is the purpose of a “preload” when compression testing boxes according to ASTM
D642?
Preload: reference point for zero deflection, allows definite contact between sample and
platen
(1) If we are interested in whole package (box and product together) compression strength, then
why not test the whole package as is, instead of testing the box and product separately?
Testing the box and product separately provides information needed to redesign the box
for optimum headspace thereby allowing for maximum compression strength.
(1) If you put large handholds in opposite ends of a box whose compression strength is 600 lbs, potentially how much are you reducing its compression strength to?
The sides the handholds are cut into theoretically do not contribute anything to the overall
compression strength. Each face contributes 1/12 of the compression strength, hence we lose 2x1/12 = 1/6 the CS or 1/600 = 100 lb of the CS. This reduces the overall CS to 500
lb
(1) What is the absolute maximum height to which you can stack 50 lb packages whose compression strength is 430 lbs? Under what conditions is your answer valid?
(430/50) + 1 = 9.6 ~ 9
Answer valid at standard conditions (see 7)
(1) Look at the table of box humidity factors: specifically H = 110% @ RH = 25%. How can a
box be stronger because of humidity?
A humidity factor ‘H’ of 100% is assigned to a RH of 50% because the lab test for
compression strength is done at 50% RH and therefore serves as a reference for other
RH’s. A decrease in RH (hence the moisture content in the box) is what gives us a higher
strength value.
(1) At what RH does a box have only half of its CS under standard test conditions? How long
does it take for a box to lose half of its CS compared to standard conditions?
~ 90% RH, 1 year (look up the tables for RH and time respectively)
(1) Can you use the retention factors for paperboard cartons? For plastic bottles? For metal cans?
Retention analysis factors only apply to paper based packaging materials and hence do
not apply to plastic bottles and metal cans
(1) A 15” x 10” x 8” box contains a product which is not intended to support any of the load in
compression. The product is a high volume, average priced item and the limiting height on a
stack of these 25 lb packages is the height of the truck, 92”. According to ASTM D4169, at
what test level in lbs should this box be capable of withstanding?
The height of the truck is 92” and the box height is only 8”, hence you can only fit 92/8 =
11.5 ~ 11 boxes on the truck. Hence, H = 8” * 11 = 88”. Also remember, 15” * 10” * 8”
represents L * W * H of the box. Select the safety factor appropriately from the table
based on the information provided in the question. Here we get F = 4.5.
L=W(H-h/h)F
L=25(88-8/8)4.5 = 1125.lbs
(1) A 22” x 15” x 12” box contains twenty 3 lbs cans side by side. This inexpensive product is
designed to support the load in compression. The boxes will be stacked 6 high in a
warehouse. You want to compression test a single package to simulate the environment.
What test level (lbs) do you recommend if no information on climate conditions or storage
time is available?
For both problems 16 and 17, we could not use the retention analysis method since the distribution environment conditions were not specified. W in this problem = 20 * 3 = 60 lbs. h = 12” and H = 12” * stacked 6 high = 72”. Safety factor from table = 1.5 (product isinexpensive)
L=W(H-h/h)F
L=60(70-12/12)1.5=450lbs
(1) What is the highest safety factor possible according to retention analysis?
For this problem look at the worst possible conditions for all retention factors and
substitute in the retention analysis equation.
F=1/HTPPPOV
F=1/.29.46.05.51.67 = ~ 44
(1) How many drops are likely to occur in the life of an average package?
According to ASTM 6-12 and ISTA - 10
(1) How do you suppose drop heights versus package weight tables are created?
Data recorders, actual observations by supervisors/managers
(1) Shock Fragility
How do you explain the fact that a DVD player dropped from 24” onto a cushion does not
break whereas the same DVD player dropped from 12” onto a pallet does?
Deceleration = ∆V/∆t. A cushion allows the shock to last longer than a pallet and absorbs
most of it rather than the product.
(1) Shock Fragility
A bare product dropped onto the ground from 24” will have an impact velocity of 136 in/sec.
If it slows to a stop in 5 ms, what is the deceleration in G’s? A soft cushion allows the
product to slow down over a longer time period, say about 50 ms. What does this do to G?
Deceleration = ∆V/∆t.
1. Deceleration = 136/0.005 = 27,200 in/s = 27200/386.4 = 70.4 G;
- Deceleration = 136/0.05 = 2,720 in/s = 2720/386.4 = 7.04 G