Simplified Modelling of the Edge Crush Resistance of Multi-Layered Corrugated Board: Experimental and Computational Study

The edge crush test is the most popular laboratory test in the corrugated packaging industry. It measures the edge crush resistance of a sample in the cross-fiber direction (CD), also known as the ECT index. This parameter is widely used for the specification of the board by its producers. It is also utilized in most analytical formulas describing the load capacity of the packaging. On the other hand, the ECT value can be estimated from both analytical and numerical models based on the basic parameters of each constituent paper. Knowing the compressive strength in CD (commonly known as SCT) and the elastic properties of the individual layers, the sample geometry (i.e., the period and height of the corrugated layer), as well as the boundary conditions, the ECT value can be calculated. This is very useful as new boards can be virtually analyzed before being manufactured. In this work, both detailed numerical models based on finite elements (FE) methods and very simple analytical (engineering) models were used for the ECT calculations. All presented models were validated with experimental data. The surprising consistency and high precision of the results obtained with the simplest approach was additionally analyzed in the study.