No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The use of loosely packed items in rigid or semi-rigid containers is widespread. These packages are very often handled by high speed equipment and put in different environmental conditions which includes the possibility of mechanical damage, due to shock, impact and compression. So care must be taken that damage does not occur to both package and contents. The development of analytical and simulation techniques for investigating the dynamic behaviour of a package subject to handling and distribution hazards is becoming more possible by the use of a wide range of available software. The modelling of the dynamic behaviour of packaging systems during handling and transport is achieved by mathematical analysis where possible and supported by computer simulation. The analysis was carried out for a range of body properties in order to test the results against experimental data. Investigations into the applied package force/motion and subsequent package impact and deformation were carried out with a view to gaining an understanding of the forces involved. The dynamic analysis was undertaken using commercially available software but it is necessary to develop special techniques to enable it to be applied to this type of problem. Corrugated fibreboard containers subjected to internal and external loading will be subjected to stress, strain, deflection, and buckling to side panels. A Finite Element method of analysis of the panel was developed. The reaction of the panel to loading can be observed by means of this method. The failure of the container due to the loading can be predicted and the variability of the material and the panel can be changed arbitrarily to test and analyze different packaging designs. Corrugated fibreboard and container elements were treated as engineering structures so the engineering concepts of stress, stain, equilibrium and compatibility could be applied. A Finite Element method using the ANSYS code made it possible to analyze the structure behaviour and helps to partly solve the design optimization process for a corrugated container. The project includes four main aspects: Finite Element analysis of the corrugated fibreboard and container elements subjected to internal and external load. 2 Corrugated fibreboard material tests. 3 Modelling of a package-contents system 4 Simulation of the products-cushion-package system The main area of research that is described in this thesis is concerned with developing the analytical and experimental methods to model and analyze the behaviour of packaging. This enables the size of the cushioning structure to be minimized and the cushioning and package material to be selected appropriately. The final stage of this project was to develop the techniques for the prediction of the susceptibility to damage to packaging systems particularly during the design stage, and to develop a comprehensive technique for the design and justification of the package system.

The number of containers shipped through ports has increased substantially in recent years and has stimulated research and development of ways to improve storage yard operations. The productivity of a portâ s storage yard depends, in part, on the cranes that are working in storage blocks. Each crane follows a route described primarily by the order to move each container that enters or leaves a block and the position to stack each container in the block. Each container that leaves (enters) the block must be unloaded (loaded) in a limited capacity transfer point before (after) a given time. This thesis is the first to develop Integer Linear Programs (ILPs) to prescribe routes for one and two equal sized Automated Stacking Cranes (ASCs) in a single block working with straddle carriers to load and unload containers from the transfer points. Using real world data, we construct test problems varying both the number of container bays (length) and excess capacity of each block. We find one ASC working alone over four hours requires up to 70% more time than two ASCs working together to accomplish the same required container movements. ILP solution time is typically only a few seconds.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1996. Degree awarded with distinction on 4 December 1996. / We present a new three-dimensional container-packing algorithm. The algorithm is truly three-dimensional, thus, overcoming the limitations of layering algorithms, especially when a large number of parcel types is used. The algorithm sequentially places parcels into the container using localised heuristic information, and makes use of a balanced tree to store potential packing positions. The result is an algorithm with time complexity O(knlogn) where k is the number of parcel types, and n the maximum number of parcels that can be placed. Test results, including a comparative test, are very favourable, and show that the algorithms performance actually increases as the number of parcel types is increased.This is a direct result of the three-dimenslonal algorithm facilitating the utilisation of all useful packing positions using the variety of parcel sizes available. / GR 2016

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.