Material Selection Decision for High-performance Fiber Composite Protective Packaging in UAV Last-mile Delivery

LIU Huwei; ZHOU Li; YANG Jianglong; LIANG Kaibo

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.13.013

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (13) : 107-119. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.13.013

Special Topic on Applications of High-Performance Fibers and Their Composites in Protection and Packaging

Material Selection Decision for High-performance Fiber Composite Protective Packaging in UAV Last-mile Delivery

LIU Huwei¹, ZHOU Li¹, YANG Jianglong², LIANG Kaibo³

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Abstract

The work aims to establish a selection decision model for high-performance fiber composite protective packaging materials in response to the dual demands of lightweight packaging and high protective performance for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) last-mile delivery. Taking precision electronics delivery as a typical scenario, a six-criterion evaluation system was built covering areal density, SEA, puncture resistance, cushioning factor, cost, and green performance. Candidate materials were screened based on protective performance constraints. The Entropy Weight Method (EWM) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were combined to derive subjective weights. After linear combination, TOPSIS was adopted to rank four feasible materials. A dual-dimensional sensitivity analysis varied both the weight coefficient and constraint thresholds. EPS was eliminated for failing all three protective constraints (SEA 18.3 J/g, puncture resistance 28 N/mm, cushioning factor 15.6). Among the four feasible candidates, UHMWPE fiber composite ranked first (C_i=0.683), followed by AF/EP (C_i=0.546), CF/PP (C_i=0.416), and BF/PLA (C_i=0.284). UHMWPE maintained first place across α∈[0.1, 0.9]; AF/EP held second place stably for α∈[0.2, 0.8]. UHMWPE is the optimal choice due to its lowest areal density and highest SEA. BF/PLA presents a potential thermal risk because the glass transition temperature of its PLA matrix (55-60 °C) has insufficient margin compared with the upper limit of the delivery temperature range (50 °C). It is recommended to conduct thermal cycling tests for verification before actual promotion. The constructed framework of "constraint screening - combined weighting - TOPSIS evaluation - two-dimensional sensitivity analysis" can provide a quantitative basis for the material selection of UAV logistics packaging.

Key words

UAV last-mile delivery / high-performance fiber composite / protective packaging / EWM-TOPSIS / multi-attribute decision making / material selection

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LIU Huwei, ZHOU Li, YANG Jianglong, LIANG Kaibo. Material Selection Decision for High-performance Fiber Composite Protective Packaging in UAV Last-mile Delivery[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(13): 107-119 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.13.013

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