Performance of paper tubes

Abstract

The tube performance requirements critical to a manufacturer's needs are dependent on such parameters as the manufacturer's processes, winding media, packaging, and equipment. Two important strength requirements for paper tubes include flat crush strength and radial crush strength. Flat crush strength is an industry standard test method and thus an understanding of this strength parameter is important for any user of paper tubes. This paper will present a description of flat crush strength as well as basic parameters related to flat crush. We will also present a patented approach to optimize flat crush strength. This patented approach is based upon experiments and finite element analysis. Another important paper tube performance property is radial crush strength. Radial crush strength is a critical strength parameter for manufacturers of films and textiles or other media that have high recovery rates in the machine direction. This paper will present a Sonoco patented tester for radial crush strength as well as basic parameters related to radial crush. Finally, this paper will present some basic information on tube behavior with changes in tube moisture content.