1. Introduction
Many shipping containers used for non-shipping applications
are modified from their original design, and guidelines for safely
using these containers for building applications do not exist. Shipping
container buildings can be economical, durable, fast to construct,
portable, and can be used for many applications including
post-disaster housing or military operations and housing. The shipping
container’s structural integrity, modification properties, foundation
requirements, building code regulations, and reinforcing
limits are mostly unknown. The focus of the research is the evaluation
of ISO shipping container’s structural strength using finite
element computer modeling. The finite element analysis of the
container is performed under gravity loads and other loading scenarios
to which the container may be subjected. The research analyzes
how both modified and unmodified containers respond
under given loading scenarios. Structural engineering considerations,
foundation and connection design, and limitations for using
shipping containers in building applications are presented.