The effect of pallet top deck stiffness on the compression strength of asymmetrically supported corrugated boxes

During unitized shipment, the components of unit loads are interacting with each other. During floor stacking of unit loads, the load on the top of the pallet causes the top deck of the pallet to bend, which creates an uneven top deck surface resulting in uneven or asymmetrical support of the corrugated boxes. This asymmetrical support could significantly affect the strength of the corrugated boxes, and it depends on the top deck stiffness of the pallet. This study is aimed at investigating how the variations of pallet top deck stiffness and the resulting asymmetric support affect corrugated box compression strength. The study used a scaled‐down unit load compression test on quarter‐scale pallet designs with different deckboard thicknesses using four different corrugated box designs. Pallet top deck stiffness was determined to have a significant effect on box compression strength. There was a 27%–37% increase in box compression strength for boxes supported by high‐stiffness pallets in comparison with low‐stiffness pallets. The fact that boxes were weaker on low‐stiffness pallets could be explained by the uneven pressure distribution between the pallet deck and bottom layer of boxes. Pressure data showed that a higher percentage of total pressure was located under the box sidewalls that were supported on the outside stringers of low‐stiffness pallets in comparison with high‐stiffness pallets. This was disproportionately loading one side of the box. Utilizing the effects of pallet top deck stiffness on box compression performance, a unit load cost analysis is presented showing that a stiffer pallet can be used to carry boxes with less board material; hence, it can reduce the total unit load packaging cost. It was found during the research that box compression strength is affected by pallet top deck stiffness regardless of flute type or box size. There was as much as a 37% increase in box compression performance when boxes were supported by high‐stiffness pallets in comparison with low‐stiffness pallets.