Stability analysis of drive-in racking storage systems

Nearly all codes of practice for racking storage systems exclude drive-in and drive-through systems. The stability of these latter systems is a problem because of the long unrestrained lengths of the columns. The lateral bracing can be located only in the back wall. The paper develops the necessary theoretical stability criterion and describes some simple laboratory model tests carried out to check the theory. Two charts for checking the stability of most practical drive-in systems are presented. It is shown that one code which does cover drive-in systems could lead to unsafe designs and a recommendation as to how this problem can be solved easily is made.