Abstract: Air conditioning products are susceptible to drop impacts during transportation, and their protective design is critical to ensuring structural integrity. Focusing on a 1.5 P household air conditioning outdoor unit, this study investigates the housing damage mechanism under edge drop conditions through a combination of experimental and finite element simulation methods, revealing the stress distribution patterns in the outdoor unit during impact. Two foam buffer optimization schemes are proposed: Scheme 1 enhances the foam support strength in the compressor area, and Scheme 2 modifies the aperture shape to alter the structural characteristics of the foam. Simulation results indicate that both optimized schemes reduce the maximum equivalent stress on the bottom plate by 10.35% and 13.74%, respectively, validating the effectiveness of localized foam structural improvements in dissipating impact energy. This work provides insights for low-cost buffer design strategies.

Key words: Air conditioner outdoor unit, Drop impact, Cushioning foam, Finite element analysis