INVESTIGATION INTO MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE FRESH FISH BOXES USING FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is used as packaging material in transportation. To reduce environmental impact, it is crucial to minimize the consumption of packaging materials and maximize strength meanwhile. To reduce consumption, reducing the density of EPS is one method, and structural optimal design is the other. Therefore EPS boxes with densities of 22 kg/m(3) are introduced to compare with the mass-produced 23-kg/m(3) model. Regarding structural optimal design, as compressive and flexural properties underlie the optimization of structures and have been well-studied in construction, they have not been thoroughly explored in packaging. Material parameters obtained from a compression test are used in a finite element simulation of a stacking test, and good agreement is observed between the simulation and experimental results. The findings indicate that density impacts the initial modulus and compression/flexure strength, as well as the stacking strength of a box to some extent. The study investigates box failure and uses theoretical calculation, simulation, and experimentation to determine the critical force, with all findings showing agreement. The study also examines how sample preparation methods affect mechanical properties, specifically comparing cutting EPS with a hot wire and a table saw, and finds that differences are typically around 2%.