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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
      <url>https://trid.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle.jpg</url>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Balancing cost and responsiveness: Evaluating operational and geographic scenarios to advance sustainable supply chains with reusable packaging</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2679115</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Reusable packaging systems are increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of circular and sustainable supply chains; however, their operational management remains underexplored. Despite the growing emphasis on reusable packaging systems, most prior research has focused on design innovation, material substitution, or life-cycle assessment rather than on logistics optimization. Yet, the transportation and redistribution of reusable packages involve unique challenges — such as synchronizing delivery of full packages with pickup of empty ones, managing vehicle capacity, and responding to uncertain customer demands — that directly affect system responsiveness, cost efficiency, and environmental performance. Consequently, there is a pressing need for operational models that capture these dynamics and determine the conditions under which reusable systems can achieve both economic and environmental sustainability. This study addresses this gap by modeling reusable packaging logistics within the framework of the Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problem with Backhauls (DVRPB). Specifically, it examines how key operational factors — customer participation rate, vehicle capacity, degree of demand dynamism, reception time frame for online requests, and decision frequency — affect cost efficiency and system responsiveness in both urban and rural contexts. The adopted approach constructs an initial static routing plan for delivering full packages and picking up empty ones whose requests were placed the day before operations start, while dynamically inserting new pickup requests as they arise during the day. This approach mirrors real-world practices used by carriers such as UPS and Amazon, balancing computational tractability with operational realism. The findings offer actionable insights for designing responsive, cost-effective, and sustainable reusable packaging networks.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:07:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2679115</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Carbon reduction and water saving potentials for growing corrugated boxes for express delivery services in China</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2364677</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Corrugated packaging for express grew by 90 times to 16.5 Mt y-1 in China, where 81% of recent global express delivery growth occurred. However, the environmental impacts of production, usage, disposal, and recycling of corrugated boxes under the entire supply chain remain unclear. Here, the authors estimate the magnitudes, drivers, and mitigation potentials of cradle-to-grave life-cycle carbon footprint (CF) and three colors of water footprints (WFs) for corrugated cardboard packaging in China. Over 2007 to 2021, CF, blue and gray WFs per unit package decreased by 45%, 60%, and 84%, respectively, while green WF increased by 23% with growing imports of virgin pulp and China’s waste ban. National total CF and WFs were 21 to 102 folded with the scale effects. Only a combination of the supply chain reconstruction, lighter single-piece packaging, and increased recycling rate can possibly reduce the environmental footprints by 24 to 44% by 2035.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 16:26:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2364677</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>A simultaneous facility location and vehicle routing problem with recyclable express packaging consideration for sustainable city logistics</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2226340</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Environmental pollution from express packaging waste is a crucial issue for the development of sustainable city logistics. The use of recyclable express packaging can reduce resource consumption and pollution, but it also leads to additional recycling time and costs. To manage this problem, this paper considers the joint optimization of express parcel delivery and recyclable express packaging recycling. The optimization problem is defined as a simultaneous location and vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pickup and delivery. To exploit better potential to balance vehicle working time and operating costs, a bi-objective mixed integer linear programming model is developed. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method provides a more feasible allocation for facility location and route planning. The cost savings from REP recycling account for 45.36% of the operating costs, which means that the packaging costs are saved and the burden of express packaging waste on the urban environment is correspondingly alleviated. The joint optimization of delivery and recycling is helpful to promote the forward and backward connection of the industrial chain and supply chain, which can provide a reference for recycling network planning in the large-scale application of recyclable express packaging and contribute to sustainable city logistics.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 22 Sep 2023 09:08:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2226340</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Adoption intentions of home-refill delivery service for fast-moving consumer goods</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2117867</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Plastic waste from fast-moving consumer goods packaging has become a global concern. One solution is home-refill delivery service (HRDS) that offer the distribution of consumable products, including to environmentally conscious customers. This research thus employs an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with environmental concerns, green perceived value, and trust to explore the factors involved in the adoption intentions of HRDS among Indonesian consumers. From hypotheses empirically evaluated using partial least square structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis, the authors show a strong relationship between attitudes and adoption intentions of HRDS. Environmental concern relates significantly to green perceived value, perceived ease of use, and trust in forming positive attitudes toward HRDS. Theyfurther identify heterogeneity in relationships across socio-demographic characteristics, levels of trust, and stages of behavioral change. The findings herein provide useful insights into zero waste delivery services for consumer goods and empirical support for the important roles of consumer trust and environmental concern when adopting such services.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:27:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2117867</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The reliability-based design and optimization procedures for a heavy-duty pallet system</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1711977</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Shipping heavy-duty goods or equipment is being a new sector recently, and the pallet is rather important. In this article, a comparison of various materials revealed that laminated veneer lumber was ideal for heavy-duty packaging industry. For various pallets with random parameters, a hybrid reliability optimization design method was proposed, which aimed to provide an effective computational tool for reliability design of pallet system. With first-order second-moment method, the separation and combination of component and system failure probabilities were obtained. Several case studies were included to illustrate the computational procedures, as well as to discuss the effects of dimension and quantity of members. Using design of experiment method, the sensitivities of each parameter were significant, and the optimization of whole system was realized. To reduce the cost, recycling and standardization were worth considering in the future.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 03 Aug 2021 09:25:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1711977</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Comparison of Implementation Items of Reverse Logistics in Terms of Chosen Companies in Europe and Slovakia</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1838749</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The reverse logistics is new, continuously developing area and there is only limited amount of information about it. Reconstruction or recovery can be also included in definition of the reverse logistics. Redesigning of packaging materials or reducing of air pollution and energy consumption in transport are very important activities, but they should be valued more in the world of "green" logistics. The authors do not speak about the reverse logistics if any goods or material is not sent “back”. The reverse logistics also includes processing of goods returned due to its damage, seasonal goods, waste, and withdrawal of goods and in case of excessive stock. It also includes recycling and activities with dangerous material.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 29 Apr 2021 17:27:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1838749</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in surface road dust in Kusatsu (Japan), Da Nang (Vietnam), and Kathmandu (Nepal)</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1661958</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Microplastics (MPs, plastics < 5 mm) are a growing concern in ecosystems, being found in the soil and water environment. One of the primary sources of MPs has been suspected to be road dust in urban areas as it can flow into waters with runoff. To understand the occurrence of MPs (100 μm–5 mm) in surface road dust of three cities (Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan; Da Nang, Vietnam; and Kathmandu, Nepal), the authors collected surface road dust samples. The samples were pretreated (organic matter decomposition and gravity separation), and all MP candidates were individually observed by microscope for color, shape, and size; and analyzed their polymer types using fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The abundances of MPs 100 μm to 5 mm in size were 2.0 ± 1.6 pieces/m2 (13 polymer types) in Kusatsu, 19.7 ± 13.7 pieces/m2 in Da Nang (14 types), and 12.5 ± 10.1 pieces/m2 in Kathmandu (15 types). The authors classified the MPs into two groups; containers/packaging-MPs and rubber-MPs. Among all MPs, the containers/packaging-MPs accounted for 55 ± 5% of the polymer types composition. In contrast, the rubber-MPs accounted for 16 ± 6% of all MPs which were higher than those previously published for environmental water and sediment samples. The containers/packaging-MPs were fragments of various colors while most of the rubber-MPs were fragments or granules in black. The number–size distributions of MPs showed that the mode of formation explains the differences between their polymer types (tearing for containers/packaging-MPs and abrasion for rubber-MPs). In Da Nang and Kathmandu, the abundance of containers/packaging-MPs and rubber-MPs were correlated so that those MPs might be micronized from the originated materials in the sources with the similar composition (e.g. dump points). It was indicated that the characteristics of MPs pollution in surface road dust might be different depending on waste management practices.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 15 Nov 2019 13:45:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1661958</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Approximating Convective Boundary Conditions for Transient Thermal Simulations with Surrogate Models for Thermal Packaging Studies</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1598811</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The need for transient thermal simulations in vehicle packaging studies has grown rapidly in recent years. To date, the computational costs associated with the transient simulation of 3D conjugate heat transfer phenomena has prohibited the widespread use of full vehicle transient simulations. This paper presents results from a recent study that explored a method to circumvent the computational costs associated with long transient conjugate heat transfer simulations.         The proposed method first segregates the thermal structural and fluid physics domains to take advantage of time scale differences. The two domains are then re-coupled to calculate a series of steady state conjugate heat transfer simulations at various vehicle speeds. The local convection terms are then used to construct a set of surrogate models dependent on vehicle speed, that predict the local heat transfer coefficients and the local near wall fluid temperatures. These surrogate models are then coupled to the thermal structural simulation to simulate the wall temperature history.         Results from transient conjugate heat transfer simulations of several vehicle test cycles were compared to simulations performed with the method described above. Differences in predicted wall temperatures were evaluated to assess the overall accuracy of the proposed methodology. Heat transfer coefficients and fluid temperatures predicted by the surrogate models were also compared to the local heat transfer coefficients and fluid temperatures calculated by the transient conjugate heat transfer simulation. It is concluded that surrogate models can be used to reduce the computational costs associated with transient thermal simulations with an acceptable loss of accuracy for the evaluated test cycles.       ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Jun 2019 10:11:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1598811</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Waste Packaging Tape as a Novel Bitumen Modifier for Hot-Mix Asphalt</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1569365</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Packaging tape has been extensively used in express delivery industry and once it was used, it can hardly be reused again. The inappropriate disposal of large amount of waste packing tape (WPT) may cause severe environmental concerns. Using WPT as a performance-enhancing additive for asphalt can be one of the alternatives for waste management. The main objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using the polyethylene (PE) WPT material as bitumen additive. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive rheological characterization was conducted on bitumen modified with different WPT dosages. The experimental results demonstrated that adding WPT improves the rheological properties of bitumen across a range of loading frequencies and temperatures. Adding WPT reduced the penetration and increased the softening point as well as bitumen viscosity. WPT additive enhanced the rutting and fatigue resistance binder characteristics but showed negative effect on the low-temperature performance. The modification effect is attributed to both the polyethylene box-sealing tape and the particle effects from residual paper fibers that remained attached on the WPT. Finally, it is believed that recycling WPT as bitumen additive is a promising application in warm regions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2018 14:03:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1569365</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Life Cycle and Supply Chain Management for Sustainable Bins</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1472104</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Packaging is essential in logistics processes. All products consumed in a supply chain from fresh berries to large containership-parts are packed during their transportation and storing processes. Often plastics are used as a basic component for the bins. These synthetic materials are produced from crude oil. After their use plastic packaging is often burned to receive thermal energy. To measure and analyse the environmental impact a life cycle assessment can be carried out. In this paper the assessment is done for a Kanban bin made out of sunflower granulate. A typical supply chain situation is simulation. Different system boundaries are used. The production and the use/ maintenance phase are analysed with the help of a framework. The highest impact on the environment is during the use phase. The transportation and the recycling phase can be neglected in terms of the environmental impact. Using a sunflower-granulate the emissions during the production phase can be reduced. The impact is less strong considering a life cycle process.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 29 Sep 2017 14:43:58 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1472104</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Investigation of an Electrostatic Discharge Protective Biodegradable Packaging Foam in the Logistic Chain</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1334533</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Since the beginning of the 20th century, logistics has undergone a huge technological development, which has, however, resulted in many negative effects as well. The industry, particularly in the packaging industry has been a massive waste producer, although recently it has forced the use of new materials and it started to focus on environmentally friendly technologies. During the transportation of finished and semi-finished Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) sensitive products, the product packaging system has a vital role. These kind of packaging materials must be suitable to both logistic (protection against mechanical and environmental stresses) and special ESD protection requirements. During the transportation of printed-circuit electronic products, ESD defense is then of primary significance. However there is a huge disadvantage for the use of various shield bags. Namely, this kind of associated packaging is particularly pollutant, it causes a lot of inconvenience in the form of waste. In order to rule out these materials from the packaging system, new innovative solutions have to be found. The investigated TPS (thermoplastic starch biodegradable foam) is subjected to a validation, a long process to certify that this material unites properties of two types of packaging materials at the same time. On the one hand, this packaging foam has to meet the requirements product defense. On the other hand, the material must be anti-static under the logistic stress effects. In case it is found suitable, it can be an alternative of the conventional materials. In this article, the authors investigate the ESD characteristic of TPS foam. As this material sensitive for environmental parameters during transportation, we make the relevant Surface Resistance (Rs) tests on different temperature and humidity conditions. Based on result, the decision of the application can be done, as an ESD packaging material.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2015 10:15:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1334533</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Optimized System of Returnable Packaging in Slovenia</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1328484</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this paper is to redesign the system of reverse packaging for drink containers, which represents a large share in the municipal waste from households. Today the basic system of empty drink containers is integrated into the system of separating the general household waste. In this system, the drink containers end in the packaging waste, although they are made from different materials. After separating, the public service for waste removal collects the waste and separates it again at the collection centers. Afterwards the packaging materials are stored for the company for handling the packaging waste to take them away. These companies continue with the recycling process. Therefore, one gets a new source for production in the end. To reduce the packaging waste from households, the best optimal solution would be reducing the waste at the source. The system that is wanted is to introduce is a combination of already known waste management with deposit system for drinks. As a parallel system, this would represent an optimal waste handling. In Slovenia, there is a deposit system for some glass bottles which has already been in use (mostly for beer and mineral water). Unfortunately, the usage of returnable bottles has been decreasing in the last decades. The cause for the decrease comes from the  customers’ habits. “Why would we buy a product which is less practical while its price is similar to the same product in a more practical packaging?” is the major question for most of the purchasers. The recycling propagandas and playing on the ecological awareness of a person is productive in one way, but the road of eco thinking is still very long and curvy. To solve the problem as quickly as possible, the authors have introduced a renewed system for drink containers with charging the deposit. The authors have made a survey, which showed that Slovenians are ready for changes and charging the deposit which would be refunded.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2014 09:10:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1328484</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Study on Cushioning Property of Foam-in-Place Packaging Material in Logistics Transportation</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1271233</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In this study, foam-in-place packaging material was used as cushioning material in logistics transportation. Its cushioning property was studied by means of compression test method, mechanical model analytic method and microstructure-based simulation analysis, respectively. It was shown that the micro-structural compression result of the studied material using the finite element simulation method was consistent with that using mechanical model analytic method. The experimental and simulated stress-strain curves obtained were basically identical to each other, indicating that the simulation method could reflect the experimental conditions. The foam-in-place material had a good cushioning capability, and the internal stress and absorbed energy increased correspondingly with the increase of the filled percentage of foamed liquid (PFL), thus affording the larger load.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2014 15:21:14 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1271233</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>High-Temperature High-Power Packaging Techniques for HEV Traction Applications</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/1118836</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A key issue associated with the wider adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) and plug in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEV) is the implementation of the power electronic systems that are required in these products. One of the primary industry goals is the reduction in the price of these vehicles relative to the cost of traditional gasoline powered vehicles. Today these systems, such as the Prius, utilize one coolant loop for the engine at approximately 100° C coolant temperatures, and a second coolant loop for the inverter at 65° C. One way in which significant cost reduction of these systems could be achieved is through the use of a single coolant loop for both the power electronics as well as the internal combustion engine. This change in coolant temperature significantly increases the junction temperatures of the devices and creates a number of challenges for both device fabrication and the assembly of these devices into inverters and converters for HEV and PHEV applications. Traditional power modules and the state-of-the-art inverters in the current HEV products, are based on chip and wire assembly and direct bond copper on ceramic substrates. While a shift to silicon carbide devices from silicon devices would allow the higher operating temperatures required for a single coolant loop, it also creates a number of challenges for the assembly of these devices into power inverters. While this traditional packaging technology can be extended to higher temperatures, the key issues are the substrate material and conductor stability, die bonding material, wire bonds, and bond metallurgy reliability as well as encapsulation materials that are stable at high operating temperatures. The larger temperature differential during power cycling, which would be created by higher coolant temperatures, places tremendous stress on traditional aluminum wire bonds that are used to interconnect power devices. Selection of the bond metallurgy and wire bond geometry can play a key role in mitigating this stress.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:52:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/1118836</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Study on the Modification Mechanism of Asphalt with Waste Packaging Polymer</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/872844</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Instead of traditional polymer modifiers in asphalt, this experiment tested the addition of the common plastic bag (primarily LLDPE). Shredded plastic bags were added by percent weight for samples 2%, 4%, and 6%. Softening point, penetration, ductility, low temperature-cracking performance and the micro-structure of the modified asphalt were studied. Analysis of the mixing process and structure of the modified asphalt indicated that swelling and molecular level crack-branching were the main reasons for the modified effect.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:24:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/872844</guid>
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