High Rise Shipping Containers

[BrianMc]

I am involved in a project where the client wants to stack shipping containers up 9 storeys as a residential project. I am in a high seismic zone and am wondering if anyone has experience with lateral load design for high rise container projects.

 

[dhengr]

BrianMc:

What do you know about containers? Get yourself a copy of the design specs. for them; and some fab. drawings and materials lists from a couple container builders if you can. They have strong, standardized, corner columns and connection/mating/lifting hardware, otherwise the details will vary slightly from builder to builder. I never did any design on your kind of containers, but did do some early design work on railcars to haul them. Off the top of my head I don’t know what their design capacities or loads are, the design specs. will give you those.

They can be stacked two high in rail transit, and are req’rd. to resist fairly significant impact forces (g forces) in the vertical, longitudinal and lateral directions. In a ship hold or at an intermodal yard, they can be stacked 6 or 8 high.

I suspect they will take a fair share of the gravity load, but you probably have to provide a primary structure every 3 or 4 levels for gravity loads and lateral loads. This structure will have to incorporate mechanicals, elevators, stairways, common areas, and the like. I’ve heard of people considering the scheme you are proposing, but am not sure I have every heard of it being followed through to fruition.