Evaluation of Dow Pelespan Mold-a-Pac Loose-Fill Cushioning Material

摘要

The AMC Packaging, Storage, and Containerization Center requested this agency to evaluate the new Pelespan Mold-A-Pac (MPS), loose-fill cushioning material produced by Dow Chemical Company. The addition of a latex bonding agent to the Pelespan , loose-fill bulk material provided a possible solution to typical sifting and settling characteristics of loose-fill material. the cushioning performance of both MPS and Foam-In-Place (FIP) materials were evaluated using the free-fall drop test of FTMS 101C, Method 5007.1. the Pelespan Mold-A-Pac was found to be a more effective cushioning material than Foam-In-Place for items with relatively Low static bearing stresses, i.e., .35 psi and .42 psi for two inch and four inch thicknesses, respectively. However, for items with greater static bearing stresses FIP was found to be superior over MPS in its ability to retain material integrity and cushioning performance reliability after a series of freefall impacts. Exposure to high humidity conditions caused the MPS material to perform less effective due to the failure of the latex bonding mechanism.