Mimic Drinking from a Straw in a Lab Environment

Sammanfattning: In July 2021, single-use plastics will be banned from the European market, meaning that the plastic straws used with Tetra Pak’s portion packs will no longer be permitted. Therefore, Tetra Pak develops new straws, and it is important to test their functionality, something that previously has been done with panel tests. However, Tetra Pak has requested to aid the development process by minimizing the need of panel tests, and it is therefore asked if it is possible to mimic the usage of a straw in a lab environment. Tetra Pak wished for the final concept to be relevant, repeatable, and efficient and for the team members to investigate in intended and foreseeable use. A user study was planned and performed at two preschools in Lund where 25 children were each given a portion drink with a plastic straw. The children’s interaction with the straws was observed and translated into stresses that the concept must be able to produce - concept needs. These were then evaluated, rated, and prioritized, depending on how often they occurred and what impact it had on the straw. Those who were given the highest rank and therefore continued with were divided into the categories playing, drinking, and friction, to ease the concept development. The process to the final concept was an iterative and creative one where 3D-printed prototypes were tested and evaluated. The established final concept is a modular concept that mimics the usage by exposing straws to biting, pinching, drinking, and playing stresses. It was also tested and evaluated by operators, the feedback given from these evaluations were that the concept has a lot of parts but is flexible, easy to use and has a steep learning curve. The conclusion that can be drawn is that children expose straws to a wide range of stresses, where most stresses are on the short leg of the straw. Children often drink, play, and then drink again, why the proposed concept also expose the straws in the same order. The damages caused by the concept correlate well with the damages caused by children.