Application of homogenization approaches to the numerical analysis of seating made of multi-wall corrugated cardboard

Abstract

Corrugated cardboard presents small geometries that make unfeasible the use of detailed three-dimensional numerical models, though homogenization approaches can be used to define equivalent homogenous plate models at a macro-mechanical scale. In this paper, we performed a finite element analysis of a well-known chair design, originally made of honeycomb cardboard, but replacing this material with single- and multiple-wall corrugated cardboard. We compared the deflections obtained under some load cases defined by he European Standards EN 1728 and EN 12520 for seating designs, with those obtained for another commercial chair design, originally made of heavy-duty triple-wall corrugated cardboard, finding comparable values. We also analysed optimized versions of both chairs, achieving lower deformations. In this way, we could find for each case the material settings with the better resistance-to-cost ratio, thus proving the utility of homogenization techniques on corrugated cardboard furniture design, as an aid to choose the most appropriate material settings.