TRANSpeel

Projectname:
Transport safety for unique designs of peelable packages

Workgroup: Filling and packaging processes

*Research Partner and Scientific Guidance:**

  • Fraunhofer-Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung IVV Dresden, Paul Weber

IGF: 19857
Financing: BMWi
Duration: 2018 – 2020

Individualization of products, often through their packaging, is a constant challenge in the manufacture of mass-produced consumer goods. The unique design and the equipment with additional functions, e. g. for easy opening, will become more important than ever in order to be able to score points with wholesalers and end customers. At the same time, an integrity packaging with safely closed seals is essential for product quality.

In this context, manufacturers of packaging materials, mechanical engineering companies and companies in the packaging industry are faced with the question of how strong a peelable seal has to be at least in order to withstand transport, handling and warehousing processes safely on the way from the manufacturer to the consumer and which parameters are of importance to minimize the stresses on the seals. At present, this question can either not be addressed, or only for a specific case with excessively high testing effort. There are no universally valid, scientifically based conclusions available.
The research project intends to develop a calculation tool which is available to the user for load-optimized and thus resource-saving design of peelable packaging. Based on the individual packaging geometry and the seal contour, this will take real loads during the transport from the manufacturer to the consumer into account and allows also the prediction of the opening force.
The findings of the project, as well as the calculation tool itself, help to solve the apparently conflicting objectives of a packaging which is easy to open yet safe to transport.
In particular, the project is aimed at SMEs. They usually do not have the human and material capacity to carry out extensive tests with the aim of optimizing their products for a safe and easy to open packaging. The minimization of the testing effort thus offers a considerable savings potential and makes a decisive contribution to increase the product performance and competitiveness.

The IGF project presented here by the Research Association of the Industrial Association for Food Technology and Packaging (IVLV e.V.) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the program for the promotion of industrial community research (IGF) based on a decision of the German Bundestag.