Performance of Base-Plate Connections of Steel Storage Pallet Racks

One of the major uses of cold-formed members is in steel storage pallet racks. These structures could be considered similar to the traditional steel frames in buildings. However, their design is generally even more complex, owing to the particular geometry of the rack components and connections. In particular, suitable tests are needed on components/sub-assemblies, whose performance can not be fully assessed theoretically. Among these tests, the mechanical characterisation of joints plays a role of great importance. At the University of Trento a numerical and experimental study of several aspects of the behaviour of racks has being carried out for more than a decade. In this paper, after a brief description of the design approach adopted by the European standard for pallet racks recently published, the attention is focused on the experimental study of base-plate connections. The main features of the study are outlined and test results are briefly summarized. Furthermore, in order to identify the influence of joint response on rack frame performance, the main results of a numerical study carried out on a typical rack frame configuration are summarised and discussed.