Design of a test method to simulate the stresses encountered by packaging during sea transport

The aim of this research was to design a specific testing method to simulate the mechanical hazards encountered in sea transport regardless of sea routes and sea conditions and to put it into practice with specially designed devices. The Laboratoire National d'Essais (LNE) has carried out this research in cooperation with the French Ship-Building Research Institute. Eight sea routes of major commercial importance have been chosen and among them five zones in which heavy swells are likely to occur. The behavior of four types of ships (representative of the present merchant fleet) submitted to various sea conditions has been calculated by computer. Moreover, the stacking conditions on board have been observed directly by the LNE. The analysis of parameters which describe the movement of the ship and affect the packagings are, respectively, rolling, pitching and slamming. The test parameters have been adjusted through experimental ranges of tests on box-pallets, the behavior of which were well known in field trials.