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The term load bridging describes a phenomenon in which the physical interaction between various packaging components acts as a series of discrete loads in a given unit load and adds stiffness to the shipping pallet/load combination. Current pallet design practices often ignore the aspect of load bridging and assume that the pallet payload is flexible and uniformly distributed over the pallet surface. This can influence the load-carrying capacity of the pallet. The study reported in this paper investigated the relationship between the stretch wrap containment force and load bridging in unit loads and the resulting unit-load deflection. The experimental results of this study indicate that an increase in the stretch wrap containment force can improve the unit-load deflection by as much as 81%. The influence of the stretch wrap containment force on pallet deflection is greatest for small packages and pallets with low stiffness. These experimental results provide useful information for realizing more efficient and sustainable unit-load designs. ; US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest ServiceUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA)United States Forest Service [14-JV-1330142-070] ; US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Grant/Award Number: 14-JV-1330142-070 ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Shipping pallets often are designed with the assumption that the payload carried is flexible and uniformly distributed on the pallet surface. However, packages on the pallet can act as a series of discrete loads, and the physical interactions among the packages can add stiffness to the pallet/load combination. The term 'load bridging' has been used to describe this phenomenon. The study reported in this paper investigated the relationships of package size, corrugated flute type and pallet stiffness to load bridging and the resulting unit-load deflection. The experimental results indicated that an increase in box size changed the unit-load deflection by as much as 75%. Flute type was found to impact load bridging and the resulting unit-load deflection. Changing the corrugated box flute type from B-flute or BC-flute to E-flute reduces the unit-load deflection by as much as 40%. Also, experimental data indicates that the effect of package size and corrugated board flute type on pallet deflection is the greatest for low stiffness pallets. The results provide information that can be used to design unit loads that use material more efficiently. Copyright (C) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ; USDA Forest Service - Southern Research StationUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA)United States Forest Service; Ongweoweh Corporation; Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech ; USDA Forest Service - Southern Research Station, Ongweoweh Corporation and the members of the Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech are gratefully acknowledged for their financial support for this research project. Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) is also acknowledged for the testing material support for this research project. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee