The Tech Box
FBA Technical Committee Continues to Support the Corrugated Industry
Part of the mission statement of the Fibre Box Association (FBA) Technical Committee is to "
stay abreast of industry developments and regulations and address all technical aspects of corrugated container manufacturing, shipment, and usage. Including design and development of relevant projects, trials, studies, and the production/publication of associated technical literature, brochures, and documents."
The Committee helps to answer industry-wide questions through projects and other initiatives.
So, beginning in 2017, the Technical Committee, on behalf of FBA member companies, received approval from the Board of Directors to contract research that benefits the corrugated industry. The preliminary concept of the Committee was to validate the environmental factors published in the Fibre Box Handbook to date, using boxes in the current marketplace.
The Committee was looking to update industry norms and extend the knowledge base for box manufacturing.
The factors in the FBA Handbook were based on historical literature,
without the 1990s and later data. And recent literature raised questions about whether those factors truly represented what happens in a unit of stacked boxes today.
Thus began a multi-year process to update the environmental factors for the Handbook. With two studies completed and two more underway:
Impact of Relative Humidity on Top to Bottom Box Compression -
In 2019, the Technical Committee completed research on ambient humidity's effects on box designs. The effect of Relative Humidity is one of the most significant considerations for corrugated packaging performance and "Environmental Factor" development. The study, completed by Clemson University, used current substrate performance data and provided results that allowed us to update numbers in the Handbook. You can read more about the research
here
. Also, if you click
here
and then click on 2019 - 2nd Quarter - New Research - How Does Ambient Humidity Affect Modern Box Design, you can listen to a Free FBA webinar about the project.
Impact of Stacking Pattern on Top to Bottom Box Compression
- In 2020-21, the Technical Committee researched how stacking patterns impact BCT. The study, performed by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), compared 32 ECT and 44 ECT columnar aligned, interlocked, and hybrid stacking patterns subjected to compression testing. You can read more about this study
here
and
here
, and then click on 2021 - 2nd Quarter - New Research–How Does Stacking Pattern Impact BCT for a free FBA webinar about the project.
Characterization of Scoring and Its Importance to BCT Strength
- the Technical Committee will have concluded a study on the compression strength of scoring profiles by 2022. Performed by the US Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, the objective of the work is to evaluate a variety of commonly used scoring profiles on BCT.
Effect of Pallet Overhang on Box Compression Strength
- Currently, the Technical Committee is working with Virginia Tech to study the impact of pallet overhang on BCT. We expect to finish the project's testing by the end of December and a final report, most likely in the first quarter of 2023.
We couldn't do the work without the collaboration of our member companies and the dedicated members of the Technical Committee. The research done by the Committee has benefited the corrugated packaging industry and put our industry back on the radar with universities and institutions looking to complete research.
As we continue this push to provide valuable research for the industry, we will be creating a new Technical Sub-committee that will pre-vet technical research projects for FBA funding. A concept submission document will be available to all FBA members who have ideas on research that can benefit the corrugated industry. Please reach out if you would like me to send you a concept submission form once it's available.
Thanks,
Chase
Chase Kammerer is the Technical Services Manager at Fibre Box Association (FBA). If you have technical questions about the corrugated industry, you can reach him directly at
ckammerer@fibrebox.org
.