Experimental study on fracture failure characteristics evaluation of wooden pallets in humid-cold environment based on piezoelectric technology

Wooden pallets often suffer mechanical damage during transportation, stacking, forklifting, and on-site handling in cold supply chain logistics. In humid-cold environments, the fracture properties of wooden pallets change, increasing the risk of sudden fracture failure. Understanding the fracture failure characteristics of wooden pallets is essential to prevent further damage to goods. Nevertheless, evaluating and identifying these characteristics currently presents significant challenges. This study investigates the changes in modulus of elasticity (MOE) and fracture failure characteristics including modulus of rupture (MOR), brittleness and toughness of wooden pallets and impact toughness of wood material under humid-cold conditions. The piezoelectric technology was applied to evaluate and identify fracture risk of wooden pallets used in various humidity and cold conditions. Quartersized wooden pallets and standard wood specimens were examined by laboratory study. The experimental results showed that the MOE, MOR, toughness of wooden pallets and impact toughness of wood with higher moisture content (MC) increased with decreasing temperature, while brittleness increased as temperature decreased. These results indicate that the maximum carrying ability of wooden pallets increases in humid-cold environments while the ability to resist fracture was reduced with a higher brittle rupture risk. The toughness and its corresponding piezoelectric voltage exhibited good consistency with changes in temperature and MC. The relationship between toughness and piezoelectric voltage was established with good coefficient of determination (over 0.81). It indicates that the risk of wooden pallets could be predicted effectively using piezoelectric technology.