Designation: D 4169 – 08

Standard Practice for

Performance Testing of Shipping Containers and Systems

1

This standard is issued under the fifixed designation D 4169; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of

original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A

superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the Department of Defense.

1. Scope

1.1 This practice provides a uniform basis of evaluating, in

a laboratory, the ability of shipping units to withstand the

distribution environment. This is accomplished by subjecting

them to a test plan consisting of a sequence of anticipated

hazard elements encountered in various distribution cycles.

This practice is not intended to supplant material specififications

or existing preshipment test procedures.

1.2 This practice does not include performance testing of

packages for single parcel shipments (see Practice D 7386).

1.3 The suitability of this practice for use with hazardous

materials has not been determined.

1.4 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded

as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical

conversions to SI units that are provided for information only

and are not considered standard.

1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the

safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the

responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro

priate safety and health practices and determine the applica

bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents

2.1 ASTM Standards:

2

D 642 Test Method for Determining Compressive Resis

tance of Shipping Containers, Components, and Unit

Loads

D 880 Test Method for Impact Testing for Shipping Con

tainers and Systems

D 951 Test Method for Water Resistance of Shipping Con

tainers by Spray Method

D 996 Terminology of Packaging and Distribution Environ

ments

D 999 Test Methods for Vibration Testing of Shipping

Containers

D 4003 Test Methods for Programmable Horizontal Impact

Test for Shipping Containers and Systems

D 4332 Practice for Conditioning Containers, Packages, or

Packaging Components for Testing

D 4728 Test Method for Random Vibration Testing of

Shipping Containers

D 5265 Test Method for Bridge Impact Testing

D 5276 Test Method for Drop Test of Loaded Containers by

Free Fall

D 5277 Test Method for Performing Programmed Horizon

tal Impacts Using an Inclined Impact Tester

D 5487 Test Method for Simulated Drop of Loaded Con

tainers by Shock Machines

D 6055 Test Methods for Mechanical Handling of Unitized

Loads and Large Shipping Cases and Crates

D 6179 Test Methods for Rough Handling of Unitized

Loads and Large Shipping Cases and Crates

D 6344 Test Method for Concentrated Impacts to Transport

Packages

D 6653 Test Methods for Determining the Effects of High

Altitude on Packaging Systems by Vacuum Method

D 7386 Practice for Performance Testing of Packages for

Single Parcel Delivery Systems

F 1327 Terminology Relating to Barrier Materials for Medi

cal Packaging

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2.2 Military Standards:

4

MIL-STD-810F Environmental Test Methods

MIL-STD-2073–1 DOD Standard Practice for Military

Packaging

3. Terminology

3.1 Defifinitions—General defifinitions for the packaging and

distribution environments are found in Terminology D 996.

1

This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D10 on Packaging

and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D10.21 on Shipping Containers and

Systems - Application of Performance Test Methods.

Current edition approved Aug. 1, 2008. Published August 2008. Originally

approved in 2004. Last previous edition approved in 2005 as D 4169 – 05.

2

For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or

contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM

Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on

the ASTM website.

3

Withdrawn.

4

Available from Standardization Documents Order Desk, Bldg. 4 Section D, 700

Robbins Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094, Attn: NPODS.

1

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3.2 Defifinitions of Terms Specifific to This Standard:

3.2.1 acceptance criteria—the acceptable quality level that

must be met after the shipping unit has been subjected to the

test plan. See Section 7.

3.2.2 assurance level—the level of test intensity based on

its probability of occurring in a typical distribution cycle.

3.2.2.1 Discussion—Level I is a high level of test intensity

and has a low probability of occurrence. Level III is a low level

of test intensity, but has a correspondingly high probability of

occurrence. Level II is between these extremes. For Distribu

tion Cycle 18 (DC–18), see MIL-STD-2073–1 for defifinitions

of military levels of protection.

3.2.3 coeff?cient of restitution—the ratio of the rebound

velocity to the impact velocity.

3.2.4 distribution cycle (DC)—the sequential listing of the

test schedules employed to simulate the hazard elements

expected to occur for a specifific routing of a shipping unit from

production to consumption. See Table 1.

3.2.5 feeder aircraft—small, potentially non-pressurized

aircraft used to transport express packages.

3.2.6 hazard element—a specifific event that occurs in a

distribution cycle that may pose a hazard to a shipping unit.

The element will usually be simulated by a single test schedule.

See Section 9.

3.2.7 shipping unit—the smallest complete unit that will be

subjected to the distribution environment, for example, a

shipping container and its contents.

3.2.7.1 small shipping unit—for DC-18, a small shipping

unit is defifined as one having no edge dimension or diameter

over 60 in. (1.52 m) and a gross weight of 100 lb (45 kg) or

less.

3.2.7.2 large shipping unit—for DC-18, a large shipping

unit is defifined as one having at least one edge dimension or

diameter over 60 in. (1.52 m) or a gross weight in excess of 100

lb (45 kg), or it is one that has a gross weight exceeding 100 lb

(45 kg) and is secured to a base or to the base of a shipping

unit.

3.2.8 test plan—a specifific listing of the test sequence to be

followed to simulate the hazards anticipated during the distri

bution cycle of a shipping unit. Included will be the test

intensity and number of sequential tests to be conducted. See

8.5.

3.2.9 test schedule—the specifific procedure to be used,

including the three assurance level intensities, and a reference

to the test method that is the basis of the schedule.

3.2.9.1 Discussion—The purpose of the schedule is to

simulate the forces occurring during any hazard element of the

distribution cycle. See Section 9.

3.2.10 total velocity change, (DV)—the sum of the impact

and rebound velocities.

3.3 Abbreviations:

3.3.1 TOFC—trailer on flflatcar.

3.3.2 COFC—container on flflatcar.

3.3.3 TL—truckload.

3.3.4 CL—carload.

3.3.5 LTL—less than truckload.

4. Signifificance and Use

4.1 This practice provides a guide for the evaluation of

shipping units in accordance with a uniform system, using

established test methods at levels representative of those

occurring in actual distribution. The recommended test levels

are based on available information on the shipping and

handling environment, and current industry/government prac

tice and experience (1-13).

5

The tests should be performed

sequentially on the same containers in the order given. For use

as a performance test, this practice requires that the shipping

unit tested remain unopened until the sequence of tests are

completed. If used for other purposes, such as package

development, it may be useful to open and inspect shipping

units at various times throughout the sequence. This may,

however, prohibit evaluating the inflfluence of the container

closure on container performance.

4.2 For Distribution Cycle 18, as referred to in MIL-STD-

2073–1, the use of this practice is defifined in subsequent

sections identifified as DC-18.

5. Test Specimen

5.1 Test specimens consist of representative samples of

complete shipping units, including actual contents. Products

with blemishes or minor defects may be used if the defective

component is not to be studied by the test and if the defect is

documented in the report. Dummy test loads are acceptable if

testing the actual product might be hazardous. If a dummy load

is used, it should be instrumented to determine if the fragility

level of the actual product has been exceeded. Take care to

duplicate the load characteristics of the actual product, and

avoid unnecessary prehandling.

5.2 Care must be taken to ensure that no degradation has

occurred to either the product or the package if the test

packages have been shipped to the test site. If any doubt exists

as to the condition of the package, repack the product in new

packaging material before testing.

5.3 The number of test replications depends on the desired

objectives of the testing and the availability of duplicate

products and shipping containers. Replicate testing is recom

mended to improve the reliability of the test results.

6. Conditioning

6.1 If the distribution cycle contains climatic conditions that

have an effect on the performance characteristics of the

product, shipping container, or components such as cushioning,

use one of the following procedures. (It should be noted that

different atmospheric conditions are likely to exist between the

origin and destination points of a distribution cycle, particu

larly for export/import cycles.)

6.1.1 Conduct the test at standard conditions and compen

sate for the effects of any climatic condition. Condition the

shipping units to a standard atmosphere of 73.4 6 2°F (23 6

1°C) and 50 6 2 % relative humidity. Condition fifiberboard

containers in accordance with Practice D 4332. The same

atmospheric condition should be used for any assurance level.

5

The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to a list of references at the end of

this practice.

D 4169 – 08

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TABLE 1 Distribution Cycles

Performance Test Schedule Sequence

(see Section 9 for Test Schedule defifinition)

DC Distribution Cycle First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh

1 General Cycle—undefifined distribution

system

Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration

Schedule F

Loose-Load

Vibration

Schedule G

Rail

Switching

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

2 Specially defifined distribution system,

user specifified (see Appendix X2)

select from Schedules A through I

3 Single package without pallet or skid,

LTL motor freight

Schedule

A

Handling

—Manual

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration OR

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking plus

Schedule E Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule F

Loose-Load

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling—

Manual

...

4 Single package with pallet or skid,

LTL motor freight

Schedule

A

Handling

—Mechanical

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration OR

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking plus

Schedule E Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule F

Loose-Load

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling—

Mechanical

...

5 Motor freight, TL, not unitized Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration

Schedule E

Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

...

6 Motor freight, TL, or LTL—unitized Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration OR

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking plus

Schedule E Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

Schedule B

Warehouse

Stacking

...

7 Rail only, bulk loaded Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration

Schedule G

Rail

Switching

Schedule A

Handling

... ...

8 Rail only, unitized Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration

Schedule G

Rail

Switching

Schedule A

Handling

Schedule B

Warehouse

Stacking

...

9 Rail and motor freight, not unitized Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking

Schedule E

Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule G

Rail

Switching

Schedule F

Loose-Load

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

10 Rail and motor freight, unitized Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration

Schedule G

Rail

Switching

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

Schedule B

Warehouse

Stacking

11 Rail, TOFC and COFC Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule G Rail

Switching

Schedule D

Stacked

Vibration

Schedule F

Loose-Load

Vibration

Schedule A

Handling

...

12 Air (intercity) and motor freight (local),

over 100 lb (45.4 kg), unitized

Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule D Stacked

Vibration

Schedule I

Low

Pressure

A

Schedule E

Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

13 Air (intercity) and motor freight (local,

single package up to 100 lb (45.4 kg)

Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking

Schedule F

Loose-Load

Vibration

Schedule I

Low

Pressure

A

Schedule E

Vehicle

Vibration

Schedule J

Concentrated

Impact

Schedule A

Handling

14 Warehousing (partial cycle to be added to

other cycles as needed)

Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule B

Warehouse Stacking

... ... ... ...

15 Export/Import shipment for intermodal

container or roll on/roll off trailer (partial

cycle to be added to other cycles as

needed)

Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking

Schedule A

Handling

... ... ...

16 Export/Import shipment for palletized cargo

ship (partial cycle to be added to

other cycles as needed)

Schedule

A

Handling

Schedule C Vehicle

Stacking

Schedule A

Handling