Session Dates
17 Oct 2002
Abstract
The stability in the down-aisle direction of high rise storage racks is usually provided by the beam-to-column and base-plate connections. In order to evaluate the effect of the beam-to-column connections, a complex test rig has been designed and developed at the University of Sydney to test rack sub-assemblages which are the lower levels of high rise rack systems. The rig is designed to apply up to 500 kN vertical load via gravity load simulators. Pins at the top and bottom of the uprights under test remove the effect of the base-plates on the lateral stability. To apply horizontal loads, a down-aisle controlled displacement is introduced at the top of the frame and a load cell is used to measured the force required to obtain this displacement. The corresponding vertical loads are then applied via 2 hydraulic actuators mounted in the gravity load simulators. The rig allows both the loading and unloading in the post-ultimate range to be followed. The paper describes the development of this test rig, and preliminary testing performed using the test rig. The ability of the rig to follow the unloading curve is demonstrated.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Research Center/Lab(s)
Wei-Wen Yu Center for Cold-Formed Steel Structures
Meeting Name
16th International Specialty Conference on Cold-Formed Steel Structures
Publisher
University of Missouri--Rolla
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2002 University of Missouri--Rolla, All rights reserved.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Harris, Elisha and Hancock, Gregory J., "Sway Stability Testing of High Rise Rack Sub-assemblages" (2002). CCFSS Proceedings of International Specialty Conference on Cold-Formed Steel Structures (1971 - 2018). 2.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/isccss/16iccfss/16iccfss-session5/2
Sway Stability Testing of High Rise Rack Sub-assemblages
The stability in the down-aisle direction of high rise storage racks is usually provided by the beam-to-column and base-plate connections. In order to evaluate the effect of the beam-to-column connections, a complex test rig has been designed and developed at the University of Sydney to test rack sub-assemblages which are the lower levels of high rise rack systems. The rig is designed to apply up to 500 kN vertical load via gravity load simulators. Pins at the top and bottom of the uprights under test remove the effect of the base-plates on the lateral stability. To apply horizontal loads, a down-aisle controlled displacement is introduced at the top of the frame and a load cell is used to measured the force required to obtain this displacement. The corresponding vertical loads are then applied via 2 hydraulic actuators mounted in the gravity load simulators. The rig allows both the loading and unloading in the post-ultimate range to be followed. The paper describes the development of this test rig, and preliminary testing performed using the test rig. The ability of the rig to follow the unloading curve is demonstrated.
