9 Key Points For Designing And Constructing Steel Structure Factory Buildings And Warehouses

9 Key Points for Designing and Constructing Steel Structure Factory Buildings and Warehouses

Steel structure factory buildings and warehouses have gained widespread recognition in construction projects due to their rapid construction speed, light self-weight, excellent seismic performance, and environmental friendliness. They are gradually replacing heavy reinforced concrete in industrial building design.

The application of steel-structured factories and warehouses is relatively recent, with specific design and construction techniques still evolving. While steel-structured industrial facilities offer numerous advantages, they also present inherent material limitations such as poor fire resistance and susceptibility to corrosion. These factors must be carefully considered throughout the design and construction process.

一,Summary of Advantages of Steel Structure Industrial Buildings and Warehouses

As mentioned in the abstract, the primary advantages of steel structure industrial buildings and warehouses are as follows:
First, in terms of construction speed: Steel structural components can be mass-produced in factories, featuring simple construction and rapid installation, significantly shortening the construction cycle. Second, regarding self-weight: Steel structures reduce building structural mass by approximately 30%. This offers superior overall economics compared to reinforced concrete systems, particularly in areas with low foundation bearing capacity or high seismic intensity. Finally, from an environmental perspective: Steel structures represent an eco-friendly green building system. Steel itself is a high-strength, high-performance material with significant recyclability value and eliminates the need for formwork construction.

二,The Importance of Drawing Design for Steel Structure Factory Buildings and Warehouses

Regardless of the type of project, drawings serve as the basis for construction. During the design phase of steel structure industrial buildings and warehouses, specialized technical personnel from the construction unit must be organized to conduct a joint review of the drawings. This review should identify any errors, omissions, conflicts, or deficiencies in the construction drawings, striving to resolve issues before construction begins. This minimizes the impact of drawing-related problems on project quality and schedule. Steel structure projects require separate construction organization designs for fabrication and installation phases. The fabrication process section must detail quality standards and technical requirements for each process and sub-item during fabrication, along with specific measures established to ensure product quality.

三,Design Principles for Support Systems in Steel Structure Workshops and Warehouses

To ensure the spatial functionality of steel structure workshops and warehouses, enhance their overall rigidity, withstand and transmit longitudinal horizontal forces, prevent excessive member deformation, avoid buckling of compression members, and guarantee the structural stability, a reliable support system shall be arranged based on the workshop structure type, overhead crane layout, vibrating equipment, span, height, and length of temperature zones. Each temperature zone within the building should feature a stable inter-column bracing system, coordinated with the arrangement of transverse roof bracing. The position of lower column bracing significantly determines the direction of longitudinal structural deformation and influences the magnitude of thermal stresses. Such bracing should be placed as centrally as possible within each temperature zone, allowing longitudinal components like crane girders to expand and contract freely toward both ends of the zone in response to temperature changes. When the temperature zone length is short, a single lower column support is typically placed at the midpoint. However, for zones exceeding 150 meters in length, two lower column supports should be installed within the zone to ensure longitudinal structural rigidity. These supports should be positioned within the central one-third of the temperature zone. To prevent excessive thermal stresses, the center-to-center distance between the two supports should not exceed 72 meters.

四,Key Considerations for Seismic Design of Steel Structure Factory Buildings and Warehouses

When performing seismic design for steel industrial buildings and warehouses, the following should be noted: First, in terms of overall layout, the mass and stiffness of the building structure should be uniformly distributed to ensure balanced loading and coordinated deformation. This minimizes adverse effects on seismic performance caused by uneven structural stiffness. For lateral structures in buildings and warehouses, rigid frames or frameworks with some degree of connection between roof trusses and columns are recommended. This approach fully utilizes the load-bearing properties of steel structures while reducing lateral structural deformation. Second, failure in steel structures typically results not from insufficient member strength but from member buckling. Therefore, rational arrangement of bracing systems to ensure overall structural stability is particularly critical for steel structures. Finally, low-cycle fatigue effects exist under seismic loading, and their impact on buildings and warehouses must be considered during design. Structural connection points should be designed to prevent node failure before full-section yielding of structural members. This allows structural members to enter plastic deformation, fully absorbing seismic energy and maximizing their seismic resistance capacity.

五,The Importance of Heat Resistance Design in Steel Structure Industrial Buildings and Warehouses

Steel structure industrial buildings and warehouses exhibit poor fire resistance. When steel is heated above 100°C, its tensile strength decreases while plasticity increases as temperature rises. At approximately 250°C, tensile strength slightly improves but plasticity decreases, leading to blue brittleness. Above 250°C, steel exhibits creep behavior. At 500°C, steel strength drops to critically low levels, causing structural collapse. Therefore, when surface temperatures exceed 150°C, thermal insulation and fireproofing measures (typically applied through heat-resistant coatings) are mandatory.

Construction of steel-framed industrial plants and warehouses involves numerous complex challenges. Here, we focus on analyzing several particularly prominent issues.

六,Analysis of Anchor Bolt Installation Issues During Construction

The integrity of anchor bolts is fundamental to the stability of steel-structured industrial plants and warehouse buildings. The precision of anchor bolts directly impacts the positioning of steel structures, necessitating strict adherence to installation accuracy:
- Axis displacement: ±2.0mm
- Elevation: ±5.0mm

Prior to installing column anchor bolts, project each axis line from the plane control network onto the column foundation surface, ensuring full closure to guarantee bolt installation accuracy. Subsequently, mark the outer edges of columns based on the axis lines. Once the caisson scaffolding for installing steel column anchor bolts is erected, transfer the required elevation points onto the steel tube scaffolding.

七, Summary of Precautions During Steel Structure Hoisting Operations

Specific precautions include: First, mark the crosshairs on the column base plate and the centerlines of anchor bolts. Clean the shear holes at the column base thoroughly. After positioning the steel column, adjust the elevation and tighten the nuts. Second, after completing the erection of columns in one area, install the tie rods to ensure overall column stability and prevent deformation during beam lifting. Finally, lift the steel beams, aligning two pairs in mid-air and performing an initial tightening of the high-strength bolts. Secure the first beam with four guy wires to prevent lateral tilting.

八,Analysis of Installation Challenges for Crane Beam Systems

During the construction of steel structure workshops, crane beams must be installed strictly according to specifications, starting from the column-supported spans. Once the column supports are installed and connected, they form a relatively stable spatial rigid unit. Installing from this point ensures safety and guarantees that crane beam installation will not affect column verticality. During installation, shims should be placed under the bottom flange of crane beams with significant end section deviations. These shims must be welded in place after the entire crane beam system is adjusted. Precise centering must be achieved using pre-marked alignment lines. Brake system connections should only be formally made after the crane beams are adjusted and fixed. When connecting the brake plate to the crane beam via high-strength bolts and welding it to the auxiliary truss, prevent continuous welding from affecting the high-strength bolts by first connecting the brake plate to the crane beam with high-strength bolts and performing an initial tightening. Then adjust the auxiliary truss, spot-weld it to the brake plate, and finally tighten the high-strength bolts completely. Complete the welding between the brake plate and the auxiliary truss afterward. Both the tightening of high-strength bolts and the welding of the brake plate must follow a procedure starting from the center of each plate and progressing outward to minimize internal stresses within the plates.

九,Storage of Steel Structure Components

To facilitate installation, steel structure components should be stored appropriately upon arrival at the site. The principle is as follows: Components urgently required for on-site installation should be placed directly at the installation location. Components to be lifted first according to the lifting sequence should be stacked on top, while those to be lifted later should be placed below. Components not requiring immediate hoisting should be temporarily stored off-site. During stacking, columns and beams should be separated and categorized by axis. The storage area should be managed by designated personnel, with inventory conducted according to supply requirements and delivery lists, and documentation archived. When stacking components, H-shaped members must be stored upright and not laid flat. Each component must be supported by no fewer than two contact points. Support positions should ideally be located at one-seventh of the span from the component ends. Stacking should not exceed three layers, with wooden blocks used to properly layer and level the stack. Support points must be aligned vertically.