Simulation and Verification on the Edge Crush Strength Test of Corrugated Paper Fiberboard Based on the Paper Constitutive Model

ABSTRACT The corrugated paper fiberboard (CPF) includes the medium and liner papers, which are elastic–plastic materials with numerous mechanical parameters and can be modelled by the MAT274 paper constitutive model in LS‐DYNA. Li's simplified formula and Garbowski's modified empirical formula for calculating the edge crush strength (ECS) of CPF also need some known mechanical parameters of base papers. The methodology is proposed to determine these paper mechanical parameters through the tensile and ring crush tests. To realize the simulation of the ECS test of CPF, the finite element (FE) model with contacts having failure criteria is created using ANSYS/Workbench and LS‐PREPOST. Meanwhile, the compressive force–displacement curves, compression deformation modes and ECS values of CPFs were obtained through experimental tests and theoretical formulas. The agreement between the simulated, experimentally tested and theoretically calculated results verifies the reliability of the FE model. A specific sensitivity analysis is conducted on the primary mechanical parameters of liner and medium papers, which offers a brief assessment of how changes in these mechanical parameters influence the ECS values. This study provides important reference and guidance for the digital design and reliable application of CPFs.