An experimental investigation into perforated and non-perforated steel storage rack uprights

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the behaviour of steel storage rack uprights subjected to axial compression. Material tensile tests were carried out to determine the material properties of cold-formed steel uprights. Geometrical imperfection measurements were recorded for the specimens prior to testing. A total of 67 specimens were tested under axial compression, including four different cross-sections, various lengths and specimens with and without perforations. The focus of the study is to investigate the influence of perforations on the performance and failure mode of steel storage rack uprights, and comparisons of performance and failure modes between perforated and non-perforated members are provided. The interaction of distortional-global buckling is also discussed, and the results of this study explicitly show that the strengths obtained from the tests highlight the underestimation of the existing distortional strength curve of the Direct Strength Method (DSM) on perforated steel storage rack uprights. Hence, based on the test results, a modified DSM for perforated uprights is proposed.