FLEXURAL PROPERTIES OF EASTERN HARDWOOD PALLET PARTS

Accurate estimates of the flexural properties of pallet parts are critical to the safe, yet efficient, design of wood pallets. To develop more accurate data for hardwood pallet parts, 840 stringers and 2,520 deckboards, representing 14 hardwood species, were sampled from 35 mills distributed throughout the Eastern United States. The parts were sorted by species, visually graded, and tested in bending to destruction. This article describes the methods used to conduct this research and presents summary statistics of the flexural properties for the species and sizes tested. The modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity of nominal 6-inch-wide deckboards is consistently greater than that of 4-inch material. The visual stress grading procedure used in this study can segregate pallet parts into strength and stiffness classes. These data will now be incorporated into the CAD procedure for pallets known as the Pallet Design System, which aids designers in selecting wood pallets for use in material handling.