EN ISO 8611-1 Material Handling Pallets - Flat Pallets - Part 1: Test Methods

The standard “EN ISO 8611-1 Material handling pallets - Flat pallets - Part 1: Test methods”, which is based on a European standard and later published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), describes the test methods that can be used to evaluate new flat pallets for material handling. These test methods include:

Rated load test
Maximum working load test
Durability comparison test

This standard does not apply to pallets with a fixed superstructure or a rigid, self-supporting container that can be mechanically attached to the pallet and contribute to its durability. Specific tests to determine load capacity do not replace the value of conducting field tests on specific pallet designs.

For the purposes of this standard, the terms and definitions given in “ISO 445 Pallets for material handling – Glossary” as well as the following definitions apply:

A component fracture refers to the breakage of a structural element that significantly affects the strength, rigidity or functionality of a pallet.
Concentrated load refers to load concentrated in less than 50 percent of the pallet top deck.
Maximum working load refers to the greatest load that a pallet is allowed to carry under a given loading and support condition. This varies according to the type, distribution, arrangement and securing means of the load and the support system, and may be lower or higher than the nominal load.
The nominal load is the lowest test load value for the specified support conditions, regardless of the type of load. The specified support conditions refer to the range of usage conditions in the ISO 8611-2 standard. The nominal load does not represent an actual load on a pallet in use. The nominal load is used to compare the performance of different pallets.
The load that a pallet can carry in use may be above, the same as, or below the nominal load.
A plate is a solid, hard surface on a testing machine used to apply load to test a pallet of samples.
Racking is the storage of unit loads on free, unsupported, open-span, drive-in or beam shelves.
Stacking is the placement of unit load pallets on top of each other without resorting to intermediate racks or shelves.
Stiffness is the relative deformation of a track or component under load. High stiffness means small displacement, deflection or deformation for a given load.
The test load is the applied load itself, including the load applicators, the load board or load box, and the reference load (1,5 percent plus/minus 0,5 percent of the ultimate load).
Ultimate load refers to the load at which compression, displacement or deflection can no longer be controlled, causing destruction of the specimen or fracture of a component, or at which displacement, deformation or deflection becomes excessive.

Pallets selected for testing shall be measured to ensure that the materials, construction and dimensions comply with the relevant written specifications. The mass and material of each pallet shall be determined and recorded during the test. The moisture content of wooden pallets shall be measured and recorded during the test in accordance with EN 13183-2. The deflection recorded at each location in the test shall be obtained by subtracting the deflection at the end of the full test load period (or relaxation period) from the deflection after the reference load has been positioned. The average of the maximum deflections recorded for each repetition shall be reported and used for further analysis. This standard provides details of what should be recorded during the test and in the written report.

Test apparatus must meet the following requirements:

In the design of test equipment, tolerances on all dimensions should be plus/minus 2 percent.
The accuracy of measuring equipment for tests must be plus/minus 0,5 mm.
The positioning accuracy of each component, excluding the test load, shall be plus/minus 2 mm. Measuring indicators shall be positioned to plus/minus 4 mm.
The positioning accuracy of the centre of application of the test load (where used) should be plus/minus 10 mm.
The total mass of the applied test load should be within plus/minus 3 percent of the specified value.

No part of any test fixture shall distort by more than plus/minus 3 mm when under the maximum test load. The distortion of the test fixture shall be taken into account when measuring pallet deflections. The use of heavy duty box steel sections in the construction of fixtures in tests 1 and 6 will result in central distortions approaching the 3 mm limit normally given. The inclined plane apparatus shall be constructed as specified in ISO 2244 and shall allow the inclined travel to vary from 250 mm to 1 mm in 250 mm increments, plus/minus 250 mm for each increment.

The test methods performed under this standard are:

Test 1 Bending tests
Test 2 Forklift tests
Test 3 Compression tests for blocks or beams
Test 4 Stacking test
Test 5 Lower deck bending tests
Test 6 Wing fin bending tests
Test 7 Airbag flexure tests
Test 8 Static cutting test
Test 9 Corner drop test
Test 10 Cutting impact tests
Test 11 Upper deck edge impact test
Test 12 Block impact test
Test 13 Static coefficient of friction test
Test 14 Slip angle test

Our organization, which has been trying to support businesses from every sector with its wide range of testing, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies for years, has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. In this context, testing services in accordance with the "EN ISO 8611-1 Material handling pallets - Flat pallets - Part 1: Test methods" standard are also provided to businesses.