Abstract
The in-plane tensile properties of commercial paperboard and cardboard for packaging containers or cartons are characterized using both a compact testing machine equipped with a non-contacting optical extensometer and a high-speed digital image sensor. Uncoated white paperboard and two kinds of coated water-resistant cardboard are tested in a controlled standard atmosphere. Thin strip tensile specimens are cut on a paper cutter at five different orientation angles between machine direction (MD) and cross-machine direction (CD). The in-plane Young's moduli, Poisson's ratios and tensile strengths as a function of orientation angle are measured and compared with theoretical predictions from both the orthotropic elasticity theory and the Tsai-Hill failure theory in composite materials. It is shown that the orientation dependence of the in-plane tensile properties can be explained using composite theories.
