New Edge Crush Test Configuration Enhanced with Full-Field Strain Measurements

The standard edge crush test (ECT) allows the determination of the crushing strength of the corrugated cardboard. Unfortunately, this test cannot be used to estimate the compressive stiffness, which is an equally important parameter. This is because any attempt to determine this parameter using current lab equipment quickly ends in a fiasco. The biggest obstacle is obtaining a reliable measurement of displacements and strains in the corrugated cardboard sample. In this paper, we present a method that not only allows for the reliable identification of the stiffness in the loaded direction of orthotropy in the corrugated board sample, but also the full orthotropic material stiffness matrix. The proposed method uses two samples: (a) traditional, cut crosswise to the wave direction of the corrugated core, and (b) cut at an angle of 45°. Additionally, in both cases, an optical system with digital image correlation (DIC) was used to measure the displacements and strains on the outer surfaces of samples. The use of a non-contact measuring system allowed us to avoid using the measurement of displacements from the crosshead, which is burdened with a large error. Apart from the new experimental configuration, the article also proposes a simple algorithm to quickly characterize all sought stiffness parameters. The obtained results are finally compared with the results obtained in the homogenization procedure of the cross-section of the corrugated board. The results were consistent in both cases.