DESIGN OF BEAM-TO-COLUMN JOINTS IN STEEL STORAGE PALLET RACKS BY TESTING AND BY COMPONENT METHOD

摘要

Steel storage pallet racks are three-dimensional framed systems, similar to multi-storey building structures. Huge development of such structures observed nowadays is connected with rapid growth of storage space demand. To provide the easy accessibility to stored products, pallet racks are not braced in down-aisle direction, so their design model must be treated as semi-continuous sway frame. The only sources of stiffness required for down-aisle stability are stiffness of the connections between columns and beams, and stiffness of the base plate connections of columns. Connections between columns and beams should enable beams to be clipped into various position at column heights, which can be changed by user, so they are realised by means of different types of mechanical devices (tabs, hooks etc), without the need of using bolts and welds. Such joints have nonlinear M - Φ characteristic and they are semi-rigid in nature. Currently, there is a lack of theoretical approaches to determine strength, stiffness and rotation capacity of such connection allowing to model M - Φ curve, so the only way to obtain these properties is experimental testing. The first purpose of this paper is to present the procedures applied in such approach and present test results of beam-to-column joints in one of commercially available pallet rack. Connections of beams to internal columns (two beams joined to column) and connections of beams to external columns (one beam joined to column) for different types of beams were covered by tests. The paper presents joint moment-rotation characteristics as well as failure modes. Second aim of this paper is to present application of the component method to assess main joint properties, i.e. the moment resistance and initial stiffness of storage rack joints. Results obtained using developed model are compared with the test results. Level of accuracy reached from component method shows possibility of using this method in practical application.