Buckling strength of cold formed steel sections applied in pallet rack structures

Abstract

This thesis brings in discussion the simple and coupled instability phenomenon of cold formed steel section used for pallet rack structures. An experimental program has been developed in order to observe the influence of the geometric and material imperfections on the ultimate axial load capacity of the cold formed sections, together with the effect of the perforations. Four pallet rack upright section, with and without perforations, have been tested in accordance with the European pallet rack design code. The experimental output has been used calibrate and validate a numerical model, in order to study the effects of different imperfection combinations and to determine the critical imperfection from the point of view of interactive buckling. Based on the experimental and numerical results, a design procedure has been proposed, for the determination of buckling strength of perforated sections used for pallet rack structures.