Clad-rack Warehouse

Clad-rack Warehouse

  Clad-rack Warehouse is also called Large Scale Warehouse, High-Rack Storage, etc. Clad-rack Warehouse is an overall structure formed by warehouse + shelf. 

  It serves both as a frame for cargo storage and as a main support for the building.

  This type of building generally consists of high-rise racks, wind-resistant structures, roofs, and enclosure structures, as well as drainage, fire protection, electrical lighting, material handling equipment, and its control and management systems.

  The Clad-rack Warehouse uses racks as the main body to build the warehouse, free from civil structure, thus, greatly improves the use of space. From an economic perspective, it is recommended to build High-Bay Warehouse with a height of more than 24m.

  The shelving system, as the main body and core equipment of the integrated warehouse, has two attributes:

  1. As the main supporting structure of the entire warehouse, it supports the roof and wall enclosure structure, and bears wind pressure, snow pressure, earthquake force and other loads.

  2. As a cargo storage device, it must meet the operation requirements of automation equipment and cooperate with other logistics equipment to realize logistics operations.

  In the implementation of Clad-rack Warehouse, the structural design should not only consider the load capacity, but also factors such as self-weight, wind, rain, snow, earthquake, etc., Designers usually make the layout of enough load-bearing capacity initially. For example, large-scale uprights are used as the supporting structure in the warehouse project of warehouse rack integration.

  Steel structure buildings are mainly composed of steel beams, steel columns, steel trusses and other components made of section steel and steel plates. The components or parts are usually connected by welds, bolts or rivets. Due to its light weight, high strength, high degree of industrialization, short construction period, energy saving and environmental protection function, steel structure buildings are widely used in large factories, venues and other fields. The steel structure industry can be divided into three sub-industries: light steel structure, high-rise steel structure, and space steel structure (including grid frame, truss structure, etc.) according to the differences in technology and usage. Clad-rack Warehouse is similar to an industrial factory building with a steel structure.

   More Difficulties in Design and Construction

  This type of projects are generally super-high and super-large ones, which basically face installation problems such as multi-section column docking, cold-formed thin-walled steel and hot-rolled steel butt joints, making it more difficult for shelves to meet installation accuracy requirements than conventional projects.

  As for design, in addition to factors such as earthquakes, those factors as local wind, rain, snow and other external loads should also be considered. For example, Japan has amended the building law, stipulating that the steel columns of residential structure in Japan must use square rectangular tubes to increase length of weld seam, thereby improving the seismic resistance of the residence.

  Wind force  Due to the influence of strong wind, the shelving structure may “swing with the wind”. The degree of swing varies depending on the wind force. If the situation is serious, it will affect the operation of stackers and other equipment in the warehouse.

  It means manufacturers must not only be proficient in producing equipment, but also be proficient in construction, steel structure loads and design.

  The Large Scale Warehouse must not only ensure safety, but also ensure that the racks can still meet the operation requirements of automation equipment under so many external loads, which puts forward higher requirements for rack structure designers.

  The traditional warehouse + shelf is constructed separately. The warehouse is first completed, which requires at least several months of construction, and then the shelving enters the warehouse for constructing; while the warehouse and shelf are combined into one open-air construction, which is not limited by construction equipment. The external structure and the racks building are carried out synchronously. After the shelves are loaded, the entire warehouse is almost completed. The space utilization rate of the warehouse rack is higher. For some special industries, such as cold chain logistics, which are very sensitive to energy consumption, it will be more energy-efficient than traditional warehouses, which is a major advantage.

  Fire Protection

  Major problems in the construction of Clad-rack Warehouse is "fire protection". For buildings, the combination of physical defense and technical defense is required. Physical defense can ensure the fire resistance time of the building, which can be realized by painting fire-resistant coatings or other measures. Technical defense can be realized by adding automatic sprinkler systems or other means, however it becomes impossible to implement the requirements on the Shelf Warehouse. Because its combined structure determines that the main load-bearing components such as uprights and beams of the racks cannot be painted with fire-resistant coatings, and they cannot meet the requirements of "material defense" for building fire protection. The system of fire protection company + insurance company is more common overseas. Fire protection companies guarantee, and the insurance company will review the fire protection measures of the project. Even if there is no "physical defense", as long as "technical defense" and "human defense" are in place , meeting the requirements of fire extinguishing, and not affecting the surrounding facilities, the plan will be recognized.