Influence of perforations on the reduction of the compressive strength of corrugated cardboard

Abstract

Abstract Perforations on corrugated cardboard boxes serve as a separation line for converting the transport packaging into the shelf-ready display tray. Various perforations placed on different sides of the case affect the structural integrity of the transportation box. The objective of this paper is to determine how much the compressive strength decreases under the influence of perforations and which of the explanatory variables: type of perforation, angle of perforation position or quality of perforated corrugated cardboard, affect the strength of corrugated cardboard the most. Samples were cut from 3 quality of E-flute corrugated cardboard and 3 types of perforations were positioned in 5 defined directions. The samples with and without perforation were measured using an edge crush tester and then compared. Further analysis showed that the angle of the perforation had the greatest effect on the compressive strength. The overall results show that the position of the perforation at an angle of 0° has the greatest influence on the reduction of the compressive strength for all quality of the corrugated cardboard and for all types of perforations, while the reduction of the compressive strength is the lowest at an angle of 70°.