Warehouse Floor Load Bearing Capacity

The floors in a warehouse are primarily loaded with forklift trucks and pallet racking.

Warehouse floor load bearing capacity.

Floor surfaces on which this equipment operates are typically flat and level. A uniform load rating on a beam can easily be translated into what an equivalent maximum point load can be. Floors are engineered to carry a maximum static load and a maximum dynamic load that can t be exceeded without the risk of compromise to the structure. It is expressed as pounds per square foot.

In the construction and logistics world all too often statements are made like. Another factor that influences the design and specification of ground bearing concrete floors is the nature of the load that they have to support. If it is non specific human occupancy for example it is assumed that a nominal load is applied to the floor and the only criterion is the need to create a relatively flat surface that rests on the. Floor load capacity is the total maximum weight a floor is engineered to support over a given area.

Typical vehicle operating at floor level is a pallet transporter hand truck or trailer often having maximum 3 tons capacity and small load carrying polyurethane wheels. When loading a floor with tons of equipment the actual capacity per square foot must be known in advance. The typical floor is often half foot thick concrete and has a capacity of 25 000 pounds. Simply a floor slab functions to distribute without deformation or cracking the loads applied to it to the weaker sub grade below in the case of a ground bearing slab or to the piles supporting it if designed as a suspended ground slab and to provide a suitable wearing surface upon which the operations in the facility may be carried out.

The pallets generate point loads on the floor via the beams frames and the uprights. This floor has a bearing capacity of two tons per square meter. With an evenly distributed live load of 30 psf which the tables show the floor is able to support the total weight on the floor would be about 3 360 pounds. Small and hard wheel contact surface generate high local pressure on the floor surface.