Experimental analysis of the mechanical behavior of steel storage rack base plate upright connections

Steel storage racks, typically composed of cold-formed steel profiles, are among the most widely used solutions in the storage industry, offering significant economic and operational advantages. Despite their critical role in frame stability, current rack design specifications lack clear guidelines for considering the influence of semi-rigid base plate upright connections. While standard design recommendations require experimental testing to determine base plate stiffness and strength, several aspects of the standardized test methods require clarification, as they may, in some cases, lead to inaccurate results. This study presents an experimental investigation into the mechanical behavior of steel storage rack base plate upright connections. First, an alternative experimental arrangement is proposed to address limitations in existing standardized methods. Experimental results from eight base plate assemblies under flexural compression forces are analyzed, considering four different axial compression loads. The findings reveal inconsistencies in standardized test specifications and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed alternative experimental set-up. Results also indicate that axial compression loads significantly affect the stiffness and moment capacity of rack base plate upright connections, with moment-rotation curves confirming their semi-rigid behavior.