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Design optimisation for pallets in material handling

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Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

DESIGN OPTIMISATION FOR PALLETS IN MATERIAL HANDLING

S. H. Masood and S. Haider Rizvi

Industrial Research Institute Swinburne,
Swinburne University of Technology,
Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia 3122
Smasood@swin.edu.au

ABSTRACT
This paper presents an investigation on the improvement of existing design and materials for
pallets used in material handling applications. The objective is to develop design of pallets
made of alternative materials such as composites of recycled corrugated paperboard and
plywood for cold room lifting needs. Several new designs are proposed and analysed using
the finite element method (FEM) and related information of weight, loading and safety
conditions. Among these, five designs are recommended – one is made of plywood, two
made of corrugated paperboard and two of composite materials. For the analysis, three lifting
conditions are considered: lying flat, lifted by forklift lengthwise and lifted by forklift width
wise, all under the specified carrying load of 2.5 tonnes. The selection for a pallet being safe
and stable was based on checking for maximum deflection while lifting and for catastrophe
failure due to maximum stresses under Rankine’s theory of failure. Paper concludes that
plywood, corrugated paperboard and their composite material can be utilised successfully to
manufacture stable and strong pallets. By using the FEM analysis and simulation studies on
Pro/Mechanica FEM software, we were able to suggest several optimum designs of pallets
weighing one-third in weight without sacrificing any of the functionality.

Key Words: Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Simulation, Optimisation

1. INTRODUCTION
The introduction of forklift trucks and pallets in the early 1940s completely changed the
concept of material handling and storage. For the first time unit loads could be moved rapidly
round a site with complete flexibility, given the appropriate roads and passageways, and
random access could be achieved in the storage of unit load by placing these units in a racking
structure [Blackstone 1988]. A pallet is a portable rigid platform made to hold and transport
goods such as boxes, bags, cartons, etc. in a group, thus permitting the load to be transported
and stored as a unit. The pallet is one of the simplest and most important single devices in the
whole range of modern materials handling equipment. It is the basis of the new philosophy of
modern material handling in lots of many pieces instead of handling one at a time and its use
is thus the most obvious way to save time, money, and human effort in handling. Generally
speaking, it is advantageous to use as few sizes of pallet as possible in a plant or warehouse,
so that the handling procedures can be standardised. Pallets are the most mandatory elements
today in any industry that handles large quantities of materials that lend it-self to stacking. It
is claimed that the greatest single gain in industrial handling efficiency has come through the
introduction of pallets and special purpose machinery such as forklift trucks. An efficiency
gain of 200 to 300 percent through a system of palletization is commonplace.

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Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Very few published literature exists in the area of pallet design with alternative materials
for different application needs. Most of the work on pallet development has been carried out
in the area of performance of pallets, determination of properties for pallet materials and unit
load design for material handling. Bush et al [2002] have studied the use of materials for
pallets and other factors affecting the demand for hardwood products. Centre of Unit Load
Design at Virginia Polytechnic Institute has developed a software called Pallet Design System
(PDS), which provides a reliability based design procedure for wooden pallets using matrix
structural analysis techniques and results of laboratory and field testing for design of new
pallets. McLeod III [2002] has undertaken a study on the performance of hardwoods in
pallets using the PDS software. One of the main limitations of PDS is that it only deals with
wooden pallets and does not consider alternate materials.
This paper presents a research investigation on the improvement of existing design and use
of alternative material for pallets currently used for lifting unit load. The objective is to
suggest design of pallet made of alternative materials preferably using the recycled cardboard
for the cold room needs. The future development of such application requires the handling of
refrigerators of dimension 1548mm by 2130mm weighing 2000 kilograms. The research
effort is thus directed to develop a design using alternative material against traditional timber
material of size 1548mm by 2130mm, which is approximately 2.3 times of Australian
Standard Pallet (ASP) of 1165mm by 1165mm and 3 times of ISO Standard pallet of 1200mm
by 1000mm specification.

2. MATERIALS FOR PALLETS

Wood has dominated the pallet industry as its principal raw material since the palletized
handling of material began. After World War II pallet use grew dramatically & through out
this period the pallet industry has been an important market for lower grade of hardwood
lumber and cants. Even today the demand for pallet grade hardwood material is strong.
McCurdy and Phelps [1995] studied several pallet-using industries in USA and found that,
in all cases, over 90% of the firm used solid wood pallets. In 1997 only 15% of pallet users
used any non-wood pallets [Pallet Talk, 1997]. Among alternatives of solid wood, plastics and
corrugated paperboard hold the most potential to influence the use of solid wood for pallets
[White 1996].
2.1 Alternative Material for Mobile Cold Room Pallet
For this investigation, it was decided that research would investigate new materials for
making pallets. Three alternative materials are proposed to replace the conventional material
(i.e. Wood). These materials are plywood, corrugated paperboard, and a composite material
made of plywood and corrugated paperboard.

Plywood
Typical uses of plywood are in furniture, building and construction, marine and boat building,
packaging, transport and vehicles, musical instruments, and aircraft modelling. For this
project, we considered four types of plywoods: 3 ply (fiber parallel to face layer,
longitudinal), 3 ply (fibres perpendicular to face layer, Traverse), 5 ply (fibres parallel to face
layer, longitudinal), 5 ply (fibres perpendicular to face layer, Traverse). The mechanical
properties of these plywood materials were obtained from the commercial CES Selector 4.0
software [Granta Design 2001].

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Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Face Layer
Fibres
perpendicular
Fibres parallel to to face layer
face later

Figure 1. Longitudinal and Transverse Orientation of Fibres

Corrugated Paperboard
Corrugated paperboard samples were provided by a local industry for this project. Three types
of corrugated paperboard material were used, namely, 840 AC, 1285 K2AC, and 1080 K2AC.
Samples were further divided into two classes - longitudinal and transverse. Longitudinal
types are those, whose corrugated flutes run parallel to the face layer of board and transverse
types are those, whose corrugated flutes run perpendicular to the face layer of the paperboard.
Tensile test and density determination tests were conducted in IRIS labs.

Composite Material
A new composite material was also made for use in pallet design. This consisted of
corrugated paperboard glued with plywood. The reason behind trying this composite material
is that this material may yield such characteristics of material that is light in weight and at the
same time strong enough to fulfil the requirement for material handling. Flexural testing of
corrugated paperboard and 7 mm 3 ply plywood longitudinal glued together using PVA glue
was conducted at IRIS. Three types of corrugated paperboards 840AC, 1080 K2AC and 1285
K2AC were each glued with 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal fibres to the face layer, making
6 types of composite material. Each type of corrugated paperboard is glued in two ways, i.e.,
corrugated flute longitudinal and corrugated flute transverse, giving a total of 6 types of this
composite material. These materials are termed C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6 for our
convenience, and defined as follows:

• C1: 1080 K2AC longitudinal and 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal glued.
• C2: 1080 K2AC transverse and 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal glued.
• C3: 840AC longitudinal and 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal glued
• C4: 840AC transverse and 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal glued
• C5: 1285 K2AC longitudinal and 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal glued
• C6: 1285 K2AC transverse and 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal glued

After making these composite materials, flexural testing was conducted to obtain the
mechanical properties needed for the analysis. Figure 2 shows the flexural modulus of these
composites and C1 is found to be the stiffest compared to any other composite material
studied here.

3.4.3
Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Flexural Modulus

900
800
700
600
500
MPa 400
300
200
100
0
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6
Composite Materials

Figure 2. Comparison of Flexural Modulus of new composite materials

3. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DESIGN FOR COLD ROOM NEEDS

There are certain design requirements for the pallets needed for the cold room application.
These are described as follows:
1. Top surface of the pallet, which will hold the load must be flat & fully covered and
should be no spacing between deck boards as in conventional pallets.
2. Able to handle 2.5 ton of uniformly distributed load on it while on floor and while
lifted by fork truck.
3. Structural weight of pallet must be less than 120Kg using alternative materials as
required for such applications
4. Deflection in pallet under loading must be minimum as the load is not fragile and can
handle little deflection. Comparing the deflection in GMA CHEP pallet of Grade A
facing deflection of 0.56in (14mm) under 2800Lb of load for standard size pallets
made of timber, CHEP also describes that failure is defined as when deflection in
pallets reached 0.8in (20mm). Thus for our pallet we will be using the same guideline
i.e., failure will occur if deflection in pallet is 20mm or more but keeping in mind that
dimensions of our design is more than 2 times of conventional pallet.
5. Avoid any catastrophic failure based on Rankine’s theory, as all the alternative
materials used are brittle.
Five new pallet designs were developed and are shown in Figure 3 through Figure 7, using
alternative materials and keeping in view the above design requirements for mobile cold room
needs. Each pallet design was analysed for stability and safety using each of the three
alternative materials (plywood, corrugated paperboard and the composite material). For
comparison purpose, an analysis was also performed using the conventional material (timber).
Two criteria were used for selection of a suitable material and suitable design for pallet for
cold room application.
(a). Weight of Pallet:
The weight of pallet must be as low as possible.
(b). Conditions of Lifting:
The pallet must be safe and stable under load while stationary
on the floor. Thus the lifting conditions considered are;
Condition 1: No lifting (lying on the floor)

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Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Condition 2: Lifted by forks via lengthwise entry.

Condition 3: Lifted by forks via widthwise entry.

Finite Element Analysis was performed to study the structural stability of each pallet using
each of the above three conditions of lifting using a uniformly distributed load of 2.5 toms on
the pallet using Pro/Mechanica software. The selection for a pallet being safe and stable was
based on the following criteria:
(a). Maximum deflection of pallet is under 20 mm while lifting under load of 2.5 ton.
(b). Pallet shows no catastrophic failure due to maximum stresses when checked against
Rankine’s theory of failure.

Table 1 shows the results of suitability of different pallet designs according to the FEA.

Table 1. Suitability of Different Designs for Different Materials.

Criteria of Suitability
Pallet Suitability of
Weight Pallet under
Design Material Used of
Type lifting
Pallet conditions
(Kg)
1 2 3
Timber 117.5 S S S
5 Ply Plywood Longitudinal
87.4 S S S
*
A Corrugated (1285 K2AC
19.3 US US US
Transverse)

Composite (C1) 43.9 US US US

Timber 220.9 S S S
5 ply plywood Longitudinal 174.3 S S S
B Corrugated* (1285 K2AC
36.4 S S US
Transverse)
Composite 82.6 S S S
Timber 229.5 S S S
5 ply plywood Longitudinal 181.1 S S S
C Corrugated* (1285 K2AC
37.8 S S US
Transverse)
Composite (C1) 85.9 S S S
Timber 105.9 S S S
5 ply plywood Longitudinal 83.6 S S S
D Corrugated (1285 K2AC
17.4 US US US
Transverse)
Composite (C1)* 39.6 S S US
Timber 103.1 S S S
5 ply plywood Longitudinal 81.4 S S S
E Corrugated (1285 K2AC
17.0 US US US
Transverse)
Composite (C1)* 38.6 S S S

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Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

In Table 1, “S” indicates “Safe”, i.e., the pallet is safe and stable under the applied lifting
conditions and also satisfies both the criteria, i.e., the deflection is under 5mm and structure
wise safe and not showing any catastrophic failure when checked against Rankine theory of
failure. “US” indicates “Unsafe”, i.e., the pallet is unsafe under applied conditions of lifting
and either maximum deflection is more than 5mm or pallet is having catastrophic failure
under applied load, or both. In Table 1, “*” indicates the recommended material for the
construction of pallet for mobile cold room need. For a 2-way pallet type, lifting conditions 1
& 2 must be satisfied and for 4-way pallet type, lifting conditions 1, 2 & 3 should be satisfied.
In Table 1, in Material Used column, “corrugated” means corrugated paperboard 1285K2AC
Transverse flute to the face layer, and “composite (C1)” means composite material developed
by 7mm 3ply plywood longitudinal fibres to the face layer glued using PVA glue to 1080
K2AC longitudinal flute to the face layer of corrugated paperboard.

Figure 3. Proposed Design A Figure 4. Proposed Design B

Figure 5. Proposed Design C Figure 6. Proposed Design D

Figure 7. Proposed Design E

As shown in Table 1, if all the five designs (A to E) are made of timber material
(conventional material), then all the designs are safe and stable, but the weight of the pallet
becomes very high. Among all the five new designs discussed above, only design A and

3.4.6
Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

design E are fully four way entry pallets (when constructed by using proposed material) while
other are two way entry pallets The results of Pro/Mechanica analysis do not predict any
catastrophic failure in any of the designs. Thus all the designs are safe structural wise under
the lifting condition of use.
Considering the selection criteria of minimum pallet material weight and maximum safety
and stability, the following new materials are recommended for the five proposed pallet
designs for cold room applications. This is also indicated by an asteric (*) in the material type
column in Table 1,

For Design A: 5 ply plywood, fibres longitudinal to the face layer. Pallet weigth = 87.4 kg.
For Design B: 1285 K2AC transverse flute to the face layer. Pallet weight = 36.7 kg.
For Design C: 1285 K2AC transverse flute to the face layer. Pallet weight = 38.1 kg.
For Design D: Composite material C1. Pallet weight = 39.6 kg.
For Design E: Composite material C1. Pallet weight = 38.6 kg.

It is clear that design B is the lightest pallet solution for mobile cold room application but
the best possible solution seems to be design E as it is only 38.6 kg of weight and allows 4-
way entry of forks. It should be noted that this pallet weight is for the size of 2330 X 1748
mm pallet, which is larger than the size of the conventional standard size pallet (ISO pallet
1200X1000mm) made of timber and weighing approximately 45 Kg (depending on kind of
timber used).

4. PRO/MECHANICA FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS (FEA) OF PALLETS

The Pro/Mechanica software, a product of PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation), was
used for finite element analysis of pallet designs. Pro/Mechanica is a suite of three programs:
structure, thermal, and motion. For our research work on pallet design, we used
Pro/Mechanica Structure. Pro/Mechanica Structure, is able to perform the followings:
• Linear static stress analysis
• Modal analysis (mode shapes and natural frequencies)
• Buckling analysis
• Large deformation analysis
Pro/Mechanica is a proven design tool since it allows parametric studies as well as design
optimisation. Figure 8 shows the basic steps of FEA used by Pro/Mechanica, starting from
the simplified geometric model (which can be created in Pro/Mechanica or imported from
other source like Pro/Engineer). There are generally five steps to be followed in preparing
the model for solution. These are:

1. Discretize the geometry to produce a finite element mesh.

2. Identify the material properties, constraints, and loads.
3. Solve the system for linear equations.
4. Compute items of interest from the solution variables.
5. Critically review results and, if necessary, repeat the analysis.

These major steps involved in FEA solution in Pro/Mechanica software must be executed
in order as shown in Figure 8. First of all, the geometric model of the part/system can be
created using Pro/Mechanica, Pro/Engineer, or any other CAD software. The model is then
represented as a mesh by selecting appropriate elements. The type and quantities of elements
chosen depend upon the purpose of the modeling exercise. For our purpose solid brick
elements were selected. Then the material properties, constraints and loads acting on the

3.4.7
Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

model were specified. Once the user is satisfied with the input data, then the system carries
out the analysis and determines the stresses and deflections. Pro/Mechanical will trap
modeling errors if any so that the input data can be modified. The system will produce a
summary file of output results, which has to be critically reviewed to establish the accuracy of
the results.
The CAD models of all five proposed designs for mobile cold room pallet were made on
Pro/Engineer CAD software. Figure 9 shows one of the CAD models of the pallets for FEA.
Each CAD model was put under FEA analysis 3 times, using three different lifting conditions,
under 2500 kg of uniformly distributed load on its top surface. The three lifting conditions
were: when pallet is on floor, when pallet is lifted by forks via length wise entry of forks and
when pallet is lifted by forks via width wise entry of forks.
From the results obtained for FEA for all pallets, all designs were found to be structure
wise safe in all lifting conditions, when tested against the Rankine theory of failure when
using the proposed material for construction of pallet except design B while lifted on forks via
width wise entry of forks. Table 2 shows the deflection observed by pallet designs when
constructed by using suggested material under the three lifting conditions.
In the following section, we discuss the FEA results for proposed design E only for
illustration, as it was found to be the best design.

FEA Analysis of Proposed Design E

FEA analysis has been performed using the Pro/Mechanica software for four materials for the
proposed pallet design E. The four materials are: timber, 5 ply plywood, corrugated
paperboard (1285 K2AC) and composite material (C1). FEA analysis results obtained from
Pro/Mechanica software shows that for timber, 5 ply plywood and composite material C1, the
design is safe as it was not showing deflection more than 20 mm in any part, and neither it
was showing any catastrophic failure in any part of the structure. But when using corrugated
paperboard, the design was showing a deflection more than 20 mm, hence not safe, even
though it provided the minimum weight of the pallet itself. On the basis of these results we
can say that proposed design E is safe for timber, 5 ply plywood and composite material C1.
Weight of proposed design E when timber is used for construction for pallet is 103.133 kg,
and 81.4215 kg when 5 ply plywood is used and 38.60 kg when composite material C1 was
used. Thus for proposed design E composite material C1 is the best suggested material for the
construction of pallet.

3.4.8
Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Create Geometric Model

Discretize Model to Form Finite

Element Mesh

Supply Model Parameters: Material Properties, Loads,

Constraints

Solve

Compute Results of Interest

Review

Pro/Mechanica

Figure 8. Over all steps in FEA solution.

Figure 9. CAD model of pallet in Pro/Mechanica.

3.4.9
Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Table 2. Summary of FEA analysis

Maximum Deflection (in mm) in Pallet
Suggested under 2.5 Ton of uniformly distributed
Proposed Material for load on it while pallet is subjected to
pallet Construction Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3
design of Pallet (On Floor) (Lifted Via (Lifted Via
Length wise Width wise
Entry of Entry of
Forks) Forks)
A 5 ply 1.2238 0.95449 2.3299
plywood
B 1285 K2AC 3.4945 13.9 102.63
Corrugated
paperboard
C 1285 K2AC 7.1731 3.9537 47.17
Corrugated
paperboard
D Composite 1.577 1.4508 -
material C1
E Composite 1.8701 1.5616 4.6767
material C1

Figure 10. Maximum Principal Stresses and Displacement in Design E while on floor under
loading.

Condition 1 (Pallet on floor under loading)

Fig. 10 shows the Pro/Mechanica result window for maximum principal stress and maximum
displacement for Condition 1. It is noted that the maximum displacement/deflection under
load in this model made of composite material is 1.8701mm while the maximum principal
stress occurs in the model is 0.6866MPa. As deflection is within safe limit & ratio of tensile
strength to maximum principal stress is more than 1.5, therefore the design is considered safe
under this condition.

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Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

Condition 2 (While lifted by Forks & under loading via width wise entry of forks).
As shown in the result window of Fig.11 for Condition 2, the maximum
displacement/deflection under load in this model made of composite material is 4.6767mm
while the maximum principal stress occurring in the model is 1.905MPa. As deflection is
within the safe limit (less than 20 mm) & ratio of tensile strength to maximum principal stress
is more than 1.5, therefore this design is considered safe under this condition.

Figure 11. Maximum Principal Stresses &

Displacement in Design E while lifted by forks via
width wise entry of forks under 2.5Ton load.

Condition 3 (While Pallet is lifted via Length wise entry of Forks under 2.5 ton Loading)
As shown in the result window of Fig.12 for Condition 3, the maximum
displacement/deflection under load in this model made of composite material is 1.5616mm
while the maximum principal stress occurs in the model is 0.6536MPa. As deflection is within
safe limit (less than 20mm) & ratio of tensile strength to maximum principal stress is more
than 1.5 this design is considered safe under this condition

Figure 12 Maximum Principal Stresses and

Displacement in Design E while lifted by forks via
lengthwise entry of forks under 2.5 tonne load.

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 Proceedings of the Fifth Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference 2004

5. CONCLUSIONS
This research work has been carried out to investigate whether it is possible to manufacture
pallets using alternative materials to the conventional timber pallets. Research has involved
material characterisation of alternative materials (plywood, corrugated paperboard and
composite materials), development of new design according to the needs of cold room
industry and design optimization using finite element analysis.

The following conclusions can be derived from the above work:

• A pallet made of conventional material according to conventional design using the
dimensions of the mobile cold room needs (i.e., 1548mm X 2130mm) can hold 2.5 tons of
uniformly distributed load on it.
• Plywood, corrugated paperboard and new material can be utilised successfully to
manufacture stable and strong pallets. Composite materials can also be used successfully
as in the case of Design D & Design E by using a composite material, which is developed
by gluing corrugated paperboard and plywood using PVC glue.

• Five new designs were developed using various alternative materials. This offers a wide
variety of new pallet designs, and pallet manufacturers can attract their customers by
offering customised pallets. This was demonstrated by proposing five customised pallet
designs for industrial mobile cold room application.
• Pallet made of only corrugated paperboard can also hold large loads as it was found that
design B and C, which are made of corrugated paperboard only, can hold 2.5-ton load.
• Much lighter pallet design can be achieved by using alternative materials giving all the
required functionality of pallets for cold room use. By this exercise, we were able to
suggest a pallet weighing 3 times less in weight with out sacrificing any of the
functionality.

REFERENCES
Blackstone, C.E.J. (1988), The Development of Overhead Crane Robotics for Automated
Handling and Storage, Proceedings of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, International
Conference on Advance Handling Systems, 24-25 May, London.
Bush, R.J., Bejune, J.J., Hansen B.G.and Araman, P.A. (2002), Trends in the use of materials
for pallets and other factors affecting the demand for hardwood products, Proceedings of
the 30th Hardwood Symposium, Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee, 76-81, May 30-June 1, 2002.
McCurdy D.R. and Phelps, J.E. (1995), Characteristics of Pallet Use in the U.S., Department
of Forestry, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois.
McLeod III, J.A. (2002), PDS Can Improve the Use of Hardwoods in Pallets, Proceedings of
30th Annual Hardwood Symposium, Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee, USA.
Pallet Talk (1997), National Wooden and Container Association (1997), Pallet users View
Plastic as the wave of the Future, July Newsletter, 14-15.
White, M.S. (1996), Comparative Performance of Timber, Structural Panel Deck, Plastic and
Corrugated Paperboard Pallet, July 1996, Pallet and Container Research Laboratory,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Granta Design Limited (2001), CES Selector 4.0, Material Properties Data Software.

3.4.12

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