Effect of Cushion Placed on Wooden Pallets

Abstract

Wooden pallets are commonly dropped vertically and hit horizontally during distribution. To reduce the impact, it seems logical to place cushioning materials on a pallet. In this study an anti-vibration pad was used in free-fall vertical drop tests and horizontal impact tests of softwood pallets. Results indicate that placing cushioning materials on a pallet does in fact increase impact acceleration significantly due to the uneven surface of the top board of the pallet in the free-fall drop case and due to the additional friction force from the cushioning materials in the horizontal impact case. Thus, placing cushioning materials on wooden pallets is not recommended.