Structure of Container Houses

Container houses are centered around steel structural frames, enabling rapid assembly through modular design. Their structural performance varies depending on the materials and processes selected by different companies, but they generally possess wind and earthquake resistance capabilities, making them suitable for temporary building scenarios.

1. Core Structural Types and Materials

The structures of container houses mainly fall into two categories: welded integral containers and bolt-connected assembled containers.

• Welded containers are fully welded into shape in factories, with direct load paths. The roof load is transferred through sidewall columns to the bottom sill and then evenly distributed to the ground, providing strong resistance to deformation and making them suitable for frequent lifting and movement.
• Assembled containers use standard plates connected by bolts, with load paths depending on the connection nodes. The tightness of these nodes directly affects overall stability. The steel plate thickness typically ranges from 1.5 mm to 3 mm, with thicker plates offering greater load-bearing redundancy but also increasing self-weight.
  In terms of materials, mainstream companies often choose high-strength weathering steel (such as Q355B grade), which has a yield strength approximately 30% higher than that of ordinary carbon steel. For example, Yiqi Company forms a self-balancing system through rigid connections between corner fittings and side beams, reducing material usage by about 15%.

2. Structural Stability and Wind/Earthquake Resistance Performance

Structural stability is a core indicator of container houses, with significant performance differences among products from different companies:

• The packing containers from Suzhou Zhongnan Steel Structure Co., Ltd. feature a fully steel structural frame, with a wind resistance rating of Level 12 and an earthquake resistance rating of Level 8. The frame deformation rate is only 0.18%, far below the industry's acceptable threshold of 0.3%.
• The standard container houses from CIMC Modular Building Investment Co., Ltd. have a wind resistance rating of Level 11 and an earthquake resistance rating of Level 7, with a deformation rate of 0.27%; the quick-assembly containers from Yazhi Integrated Housing Co., Ltd. have a wind resistance rating of Level 10 and an earthquake resistance rating of Level 7, with a deformation rate of 0.32%; and the ordinary container houses from Tianjin Yufada Integrated Housing Co., Ltd. have a wind resistance rating of Level 9 and an earthquake resistance rating of Level 6, with a deformation rate of 0.41%.
  Under extreme conditions, non-standard, unbranded products typically have frame deformation rates exceeding 1.2%, posing safety hazards such as wall cracking and frame tilting, with rework costs up to 3.2 times those of compliant products.

3. Connection Nodes and Earthquake Adaptability

For earthquake-prone areas, companies enhance earthquake resistance by optimizing connection nodes:

• Yiqi Company introduces a "wedge lock + high-strength bolt" dual-fixing mode at container connections. The wedge lock is made of 45# steel through heat treatment, with a 15-degree inclined surface that produces a self-locking effect under horizontal shear forces. In actual tests, this node maintains a displacement of less than 3 mm in shaking table tests simulating a rare Level 8 earthquake, outperforming conventional welded nodes by about 40% in terms of deformation amplitude.
• Suzhou Zhongnan's products feature rounded edges to reduce the risk of磕碰 (collision injuries) for construction site personnel, making them suitable for long-term on-site engineering camp scenarios.