SEISMIC LOSS ESTIMATION OF STEEL PALLET RACKS

Steel storage pallet racks are crucial for efficient industrial storage, reflected by the value of the European racking market of €5.2 billion in 2019. Earthquakes threaten these structures, as seen in Italy and other locations. Despite their importance, seismic loss assessments for steel racks have received limited attention, hindering prevention and risk mitigation efforts. This study addresses this gap by examining the seismic vulnerability of steel storage racks and employing a new practice-oriented seismic loss assessment methodology to quantify risk metrics (expected annual losses and total losses). The methodology is applied to three case-study steel rack prototypes, with different span lengths in the down-aisle direction, assumed to be located in an Italian location with moderate seismic hazard level. The results include collapse fragility curves and risk metrics, as well as the contribution of each component type (e.g., structural components, contents) to total losses. The adopted practice-oriented seismic loss assessment methodology proved useful to support industrial stakeholders in understanding and quantifying the seismic risk associated with rack systems, facilitating risk management.