Research and development
There is no evolution without research and sharing.
For years, Modulblok has been at the forefront in the research and design of racking and seismic-resistant warehouses
Modulblok has always put at the centre of its business advanced research and high-level structural design, aimed at the development of innovative products in compliance with the most stringent and modern quality standards.In recent years, in particular, our collaborations with prestigious universities have increased, in the context of new regulations requiring a series of accurate tests to assess the mechanical properties of thin steel profiles. Modulblok does not just develop its research activity as required by regulations, but anticipates what will become future design practices, with particular regard to the safety of racking in seismic areas.
Seisracks2: The Project
This project, coordinated by Prof. Carlo Castiglioni of the Politecnico di Milano, is research co-funded by the European Union (RFSR-CT-2011-00031 SEISRACKS2 project) involving four industrial partners among the most active European racking manufacturers (including Modulblok, the only Italian company in the group), four prestigious universities (Politecnico di Milano, RWTH of Aachen, NTUA of Athens, and Liège University) and a metal racking design firm (SCL of Milan).
The aim of the research is to investigate some aspects of shelf behaviour in seismic areas, thanks to innovative component tests (performed in the laboratories of RWTH and Liège University), push-over tests on shelving samples in real scale (performed in the Materials Testing Laboratory of Politecnico di Milano) and sophisticated numerical analysis, in order to develop European technical regulations for the design of shelves in seismic areas.
To date, for the design of shelves in seismic areas, reference was made to recommendations developed by the industries. With a European standard, under the aegis of the CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation), the formulation of design rules will occur with the collaboration between the sector and the scientific world, with the common goal of increasing the performance and safety of racking.
