Spacesaver Industrial today unveiled a seismic articulation joint (SAJ) developed with assistance from Afghan Associates Inc., a leading structural and seismic engineering firm located in Beaverton, Ore.
Bryan Knott, director of marketing for the Fort Atkinson, Wis.-based Spacesaver, said the "seismic feature is an industry first and will allow for greater heights for mobilized pallet racking and storage in seismic zones."
Spacesaver introduced the product at MODEX 2012 in Atlanta.
Unlike stationary or static racking, the mobilized storage removes idle aisles by mounting existing static racking onto the carriage system, the company said. The carriage system creates side-to-side movement that compacts stored materials into a much smaller space and recovers previously wasted space for more productive use, Spacesaver said.
"Areas throughout the United States are susceptible to ground force acceleration from seismic events. Typically storage racking is designed with a 4: 1 height-to-width ratio when measuring the width of two mobile carriages in a back-to-back rack configuration," said Matt Servant, product manager forSpacesaver. "In seismic zones, local codes typically limit the ratio to a single mobile carriage width, resulting in height and storage capacity restrictions."
The new seismic articulation joint (SAJ) application creates a structural tie between back-to-back pallet racks mounted on top of the mobile carriages, which allows for both carriages' overall width to be considered in calculating system height-to-width ratios. The SAJ allows for continued movement within limits while the carriages travel over unlevel floors but permits the racks to counteract each other against the forces of uplift when ground force acceleration is present due to a seismic event.
During a systems design, Spacesaver will perform preliminary calculations on the physical address of the facility to determine ground force acceleration based on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data. System specifications are then developed to determine height and quantity of the seismic articulation joint to reduce uplift potential to acceptable criteria, the company said.
