A codifiable methodology for estimating pallet sliding displacements on steel racking systems

Abstract To facilitate the logistic processes within a modern warehouse, the contents of steel racking systems are not mechanically connected to the supporting beams, allowing a content‐sliding mechanism to develop when static friction is exceeded. Given that the mass of contents is dominant, this is beneficial for limiting the apparent inertia. On the other hand, pallet fall‐off may occur during strong seismic excitations, which is a failure mode that is not addressed by current seismic design processes and guidelines for racks. Along these lines, a codifiable methodology is proposed for estimating sliding displacements on steel racking systems, based on the statistical interpretation of a large set of response history analyses, using different rack configurations and ground motions. Firstly, a multi‐parametric analysis is conducted using simplified rack models to (i) select the intensity measure and engineering demand parameter that can best describe the problem of pallet sliding and (ii) identify the salient rack characteristics that dominate sliding behavior. Thereafter, a series of multi‐stripe analyses are performed using 180 rack realizations with different feature combinations to derive a so‐called, Empirical Sliding Prediction Equation (ESPE) by following a three‐step procedure: (a) perform regression on maximum sliding, (b) perform regression on the normalized sliding profile, and (c) combine steps a‐b to derive the denormalized profile at a given confidence level. The proposed empirical relationships are then validated through a comparison between the observed and fitted sliding displacements in three rack case studies.