Numerical Modelling of Corrugated Paperboard Boxes

Corrugated paperboard boxes are widely used for transporting fresh produce, yet they can lose structural integrity under static palletising loads, leading to package damage and reduced produce quality. Finite element simulation offers a cost effective route to improved package design, but its practical use is often limited by the computational burden of modelling detailed flute geometries and by the difficulty of representing crease regions, where local bending and crushing strongly influence global box behaviour. This study hypothesises that accurate and efficient full box simulation can be achieved by identifying the feature scale box regions that govern the global response and assigning each region sectionspecific effective (homogenised) properties obtained through inverse analysis based on targeted experiments. The box is partitioned into three governing regions: panels (flat, uncreased walls), vertical creases (fold lines between adjacent side panels), and horizontal creases (fold lines near the top and bottom of panels associated with flap folding). Section specific experiments are designed to localise deformation within the target feature, and inverse analysis is applied by minimising the mismatch between measured and simulated load–displacement responses to identify homogenised properties for each region. The resulting panel and crease properties are then used in full scale box compression test simulations. The finite element model closely reproduces the experimental response, predicting peak load and the in–plane and out–of–plane displacements at peak load within 1.4 %, 7.7 %, and 2.2 %, respectively. The proposed section based identification of material properties using inverse analysis improves the fidelity of computationally efficient box models and provides a practical route for incorporating crease behaviour in full box simulations without the need for full, detailed geometry in the simulation.

Grantor dc:publisher

Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Aduke, Rhoda Ngira

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Coetzee, Corne J.
• Venter, Martin P.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135543

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135543