{"id":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","oai_identifier":"oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:case1354905983"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ohiolink/oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:case1354905983","repository":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","name":"OhioLINK","base_url":"https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/oai/oai"},"display":{"title":"Seismic Evaluation and Performance Enhancement of Industrial Storage Racks","abstract":"The use of industrial storage racks in large warehouse stores and the public’s direct access to merchandise on these racks has significantly increased over the last twenty years. Such racks and their supported merchandise have in some cases performed poorly in past earthquakes as a result of rack failure or product shedding (palletized merchandise falling off shelves). While the warehouse buildings themselves may be adequately designed for seismic effect, the rack performance also significantly impacts the seismic risk to society both in terms of life-safety and economic losses. The seismic behavior of industrial storage racks is fundamentally different than typical civil engineering structures due to the high percentage of mass from the merchandise which is flexible and not fixed to the structural system, as opposed to buildings for example that have significant dead load from relatively rigid sources (floor slabs, members, fixed equipment, etc.). This research first explores the influence of merchandise dynamic characteristics on rack seismic performance. Behavior of the pallet merchandise varies significantly and is quite complex therefore bounding parametric analyses are performed for response assessment. A number of mechanical model increasing in complexity are considered for modeling of the merchandise which includes linear-viscous, and linear-viscous with sliding. Secondly, a simple highly compressed elastomeric damper is proposed to enhance the seismic performance of industrial storage racks by decreasing merchandise damage and probability of merchandise shedding. Finally, the impact of merchandise mass variability on the effectiveness of damped rack is evaluated through parametric seismic analyses.","abstract_html":"The use of industrial storage racks in large warehouse stores and the public’s direct access to merchandise on these racks has significantly increased over the last twenty years. Such racks and their supported merchandise have in some cases performed poorly in past earthquakes as a result of rack failure or product shedding (palletized merchandise falling off shelves). While the warehouse buildings themselves may be adequately designed for seismic effect, the rack performance also significantly impacts the seismic risk to society both in terms of life-safety and economic losses. The seismic behavior of industrial storage racks is fundamentally different than typical civil engineering structures due to the high percentage of mass from the merchandise which is flexible and not fixed to the structural system, as opposed to buildings for example that have significant dead load from relatively rigid sources (floor slabs, members, fixed equipment, etc.). This research first explores the influence of merchandise dynamic characteristics on rack seismic performance. Behavior of the pallet merchandise varies significantly and is quite complex therefore bounding parametric analyses are performed for response assessment. A number of mechanical model increasing in complexity are considered for modeling of the merchandise which includes linear-viscous, and linear-viscous with sliding. Secondly, a simple highly compressed elastomeric damper is proposed to enhance the seismic performance of industrial storage racks by decreasing merchandise damage and probability of merchandise shedding. Finally, the impact of merchandise mass variability on the effectiveness of damped rack is evaluated through parametric seismic analyses.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gao, Yuan"],"institution":"Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies","degree_name":"Master of Sciences","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Civil Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pollino, Michael"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-03-07","date_published":"2013-03-07","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:35:52Z","subjects":["Civil Engineering","elastomer damper","storage rack","seismic","merchandise"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1354905983","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pollino, Michael"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gao, Yuan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-03-07"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Civil Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Civil Engineering","elastomer damper","storage rack","seismic","merchandise"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. 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The seismic behavior of industrial storage racks is fundamentally different than typical civil engineering structures due to the high percentage of mass from the merchandise which is flexible and not fixed to the structural system, as opposed to buildings for example that have significant dead load from relatively rigid sources (floor slabs, members, fixed equipment, etc.). This research first explores the influence of merchandise dynamic characteristics on rack seismic performance. Behavior of the pallet merchandise varies significantly and is quite complex therefore bounding parametric analyses are performed for response assessment. A number of mechanical model increasing in complexity are considered for modeling of the merchandise which includes linear-viscous, and linear-viscous with sliding. Secondly, a simple highly compressed elastomeric damper is proposed to enhance the seismic performance of industrial storage racks by decreasing merchandise damage and probability of merchandise shedding. Finally, the impact of merchandise mass variability on the effectiveness of damped rack is evaluated through parametric seismic analyses."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","6.16 MB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Seismic Evaluation and Performance Enhancement of Industrial Storage Racks"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Pollino, Michael"],"dc:creator":["Gao, Yuan"],"dc:date":["2013-03-07"],"dc:description":["The use of industrial storage racks in large warehouse stores and the public’s direct access to merchandise on these racks has significantly increased over the last twenty years. Such racks and their supported merchandise have in some cases performed poorly in past earthquakes as a result of rack failure or product shedding (palletized merchandise falling off shelves). While the warehouse buildings themselves may be adequately designed for seismic effect, the rack performance also significantly impacts the seismic risk to society both in terms of life-safety and economic losses. The seismic behavior of industrial storage racks is fundamentally different than typical civil engineering structures due to the high percentage of mass from the merchandise which is flexible and not fixed to the structural system, as opposed to buildings for example that have significant dead load from relatively rigid sources (floor slabs, members, fixed equipment, etc.). This research first explores the influence of merchandise dynamic characteristics on rack seismic performance. Behavior of the pallet merchandise varies significantly and is quite complex therefore bounding parametric analyses are performed for response assessment. A number of mechanical model increasing in complexity are considered for modeling of the merchandise which includes linear-viscous, and linear-viscous with sliding. Secondly, a simple highly compressed elastomeric damper is proposed to enhance the seismic performance of industrial storage racks by decreasing merchandise damage and probability of merchandise shedding. Finally, the impact of merchandise mass variability on the effectiveness of damped rack is evaluated through parametric seismic analyses."],"dc:format":["application/pdf","6.16 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1354905983"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Civil Engineering","elastomer damper","storage rack","seismic","merchandise"],"dc:title":["Seismic Evaluation and Performance Enhancement of Industrial Storage Racks"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Civil Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Sciences"],"thesis:institution_name":["Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:35:52Z"}