This International Standard specifies three methods for carrying out a stacking test on a complete, filled transport
package, or on a unit load, using a static load. Whichever method is employed, the test may be used to assess the
performance of a package or a unit load, in terms of its strength or the protection that it offers to its contents when it
is subjected to stacking. It may be performed either as a single test to investigate the effects (deformation, creep,
collapse or failure) of stacking or as part of a sequence of tests designed to measure the ability of a package or a
unit load to withstand a distribution system that includes a stacking hazard.
The test may also be used to investigate performance under particular conditions of loading, as, for example, when
the bottom package in a stack rests on an open-decked pallet; or when the profile of the superimposed load is
eccentric, as when it is supported on the bearers of a single-decked pallet which rests on a container. For such
purposes, one of the three methods of carrying out the test may be more suitable than the others.
NOTE A method for carrying out a stacking test using a compression tester is given in ISO 120481).
