ABSTRACT
Steel racks were introduced in Section 1.5, and typical components and configurations are drawn in Figures 1.4 and 1.5. A large proportion of steel storage rack systems are manufactured from cold-formed steel sections, so the design procedures set out in the AISI Specification and this book are relevant to the design of steel storage racks for supporting storage pallets. However, several aspects of the structural design of steel storage racks are not adequately covered by the AISI Specification and are described in the Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) Specification (Ref. 11.1). These aspects include the following:
(a) Loads specific to rack structures covered in Section 2, Loading (b) Design procedures as described in Section 3 (c) Design of steel elements and members accounting for perforations (slots) as described
in Section 4 (d) Determination of bending moments, reactions, shear forces, and deflections of beams
accounting for partial end fixity, as given in Section 5 (e) Upright frame design, including effective length factors and stability of truss-braced
upright frames as presented in Section 6 (f) Connections and bearing plate design requirements as presented in Section 7 (g) Special rack design provisions described in Section 8 (h) Test methods, including stub column tests, pallet beam tests, pallet beam to column
connection tests, and upright frame tests as described in Section 9
The 1990 edition of the RMI Specification (Ref. 11.2) was developed in allowable stress format to be used in conjunction with the 1986 edition of the AISI Specification in allowable stress format. However, the most recent 1997 edition of the RMI Specification (Ref. 11.1) has been written to allow both ASD and LRFD. In addition, it is written to align with the 1996 edition of the AISI Specification (Ref. 1.2).
