Mechanical Behavior Modeling of Containers and Octabins Made of Corrugated Cardboard Subjected to Vertical Stacking Loads.

The aim of this paper is to characterize the mechanical behavior of corrugated cardboard boxes using simple models that allow an approach to the load capacity and the deformation of the boxes. This is very interesting during a box design stage, in which the box does not exist yet. On the one hand, a mathematical model of strength and deformation of boxes with different geometry is obtained from experiments according to the Box Compression Test and Edge Crush Test standards. On the second hand, a finite element simulation is proposed in which only the material elastic modulus in the compression direction is needed. For that, corrugated cardboard sheets are glued to build billets for testing, and an equivalent elastic modulus is obtained. This idea arises from the fact that the collapse of the box is given by the local bucking of the corrugated cardboard panels, due to the slenderness itself, and the properties in the compression direction are predominant. As a result, the numerical models show satisfactory agreement with experiments, concluding that it is an adequate methodology to simulate in a simple and efficient way this type of boxes built with corrugated cardboard.

A Guide for the Food Industry to Meet the Future Skills Requirements Emerging with Industry 4.0.

The food industry has recently faced rapid and constant changes due to the current industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, which has also profoundly altered the dynamics of the industry overall. Due to the emerging digitalisation, manufacturing models are changing through the use of smart technologies, such as robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, etc. They are experiencing a new phase of automation that enables innovative and more efficient processes, products and services. The introduction of these novel business models demands new professional skills requirements in the workforce of the food industry. In this work, we introduce an industry-driven proactive strategy to achieve a successful digital transformation in the food sector. For that purpose, we focus on defining the current and near-future key skills and competencies demanded by each of the professional profiles related to the food industry. To achieve this, we generated an automated database of current and future professions and competencies and skills. This database can be used as a fundamental roadmap guiding the sector through future changes caused by Industry 4.0. The interest shown by the local sectorial cluster and related entities reinforce the idea. This research will be a key tool for both academics and policy-makers to provide well-developed and better-oriented continuous training programs in order to reduce the skill mismatch between the workforce and the jobs.