Seismic Performance of Steel Storage Rack Systems
Summary
Steel storage rack systems are a critical component of modern logistics and warehousing, providing high-density storage in industrial and commercial facilities worldwide. Under seismic loading, these structures behave as slender moment-resisting frames in the down-aisle direction and as braced trusses in the cross-aisle direction. Vulnerabilities often arise from the flexibility of uprights, the stiffness and ductility of beam-to-column connections, and the dynamic interaction between stored payloads and the supporting frames. Recent advances encompass experimental testing, nonlinear numerical modelling and performance-based design strategies. Innovations such as load-level isolation systems exploit stored masses as tuned mass dampers, while refined pushover and time-history analyses enable more accurate prediction of inelastic mechanisms. These developments inform practical applications, including enhanced connection detailing, bespoke isolation devices and proposals for updated design provisions to improve resilience, limit rack collapse and safeguard both goods and personnel in seismically active regions.
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Seismic Performance of Steel Storage Rack Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in seismic performance of steel storage rack systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Tuned Mass Damper (TMD): A passive vibration-control device comprising a secondary mass and damping element tuned to a structure’s natural frequency to reduce seismic or wind-induced vibrations.
Pushover analysis: A static nonlinear procedure that incrementally applies lateral loads to a structural model to identify inelastic mechanisms and estimate capacity beyond the elastic limit.
Seismic time-history analysis: A dynamic method that subjects a structural model to recorded or synthetic ground acceleration records to predict temporal response such as displacements, forces and energy dissipation.
Response modification factor: A coefficient reflecting a structure’s overstrength and energy-dissipation capacity, used in design codes to reduce elastic seismic forces to design levels.
Beam-to-column connection: The mechanical joint between horizontal beams and vertical uprights in rack systems, whose stiffness and ductility govern overall frame stability under seismic loading.
References
- Optimal design method of the load-level isolation system for industrial steel racking. Journal of Constructional Steel Research (2023).
- Assessment of the Seismic Behavior of Selective Storage Racks Subjected to Chilean Earthquakes. Metals (2020).
- Structural performance of automated multi-depth shuttle warehouses (AMSWs) under low-to-moderate seismic actions. Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering (2021).
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