Finite Element-based Simulation for Bending Behavior of Corrugated Package

Corrugated boards are used for packaging because of their high strength-to-weight ratio, recyclability, and biodegradability. They have an orthotropic sandwich structure with unique characteristics for each direction owing to their flute shape. In this study, the bending behavior was qualitatively analyzed for various variables through an FE-based simulation, and the possibility of an alternative test method for the four-point bending test (FPBT) on a corrugated board was examined through a similarity analysis with the experimental results. The cross-machine direction (CD) bending stiffness through finite element (FE)-based simulation was closely related to the overall thickness of the corrugated board. In ABflute- double-wall (AB/F-DW), the difference in CD bending stiffness based on the bending direction was approximately 17.2% in the finite element analysis (FEA) simulation and approximately 11.7% in the experiment. However, the differences in the bending behavior (bending force vs. deflection plot) and bending stiffness based on the phase shift between the two flutes constituting BB-flute-double-wall (BB/F-DW) were insignificant. Overall, the CD bending behavior of the target corrugated boards was simulated relatively well through FEA simulation. However, FE-based simulation for the MD bending behavior was not possible due to variability in contact conditions due to non-uniformity in the MD cross-section of the FE-modeled test specimen. The bending behavior FE-based simulation technology of the target corrugated boards developed in a standard state (23oC-rh 50%) through this study will be extended to various environmental conditions and materials through follow-up studies and applied to simulation technology development for stacking durability analysis of multistacked corrugated packages.