Application of the Stress-Energy Method to Evaluate Enclosed Air Cushion Systems

Abstract

Cushion curves are used to ensure cushions used by packaging systems are adequately designed to protect products from shocks experienced during transport. However, no commercially available curves exist for enclosed air cushion systems despite its wide use as a cushioning material. In general, there are two types of enclosed air systems, individual bubble and continuous bubble. This paper summarizes the theory and recent work applying the stress-energy method and different curve fit models to these type systems to generate cushion curves. This paper also compares stress-energy predicted deceleration values to actual ASTM D4168 deceleration values as a method of determining whether the stress-energy method is a viable alternative for generating curves for these cushion systems. Results indicate the stress-energy method can be used to successfully generate cushions curves for enclosed air cushion systems. The following stress-energy equations were produced from this research. The stress-energy equation for the Individual Bubble cushion system was y = 3.0611e^0.435x. The stress-energy equation for the Continuous Bubble cushion system was y = 1.9133e^0.4782x. These equations are designed to predict cushion performance of these cushion systems. Predicted deceleration values were within ± 10% of the actual average deceleration indicating that the model is appropriate for applications where these cushion systems are employed.