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A sacrificial leg is a component used in one manufacturer's pallet racking warehouse storage system. As this system is welded, damaged supports can be difficult to replace so the manufacturer offers these bolted components.
Adjustable pallet racking has two prime components - uprights and beams. These are arranged to provide a number of storage locations that are in general serviced by forklift trucks for the picking and placing of palletised loads. The uprights are vulnerable to damage by a forklift truck when manoeuvring. Most of the damage occurs in the first metre of the frame's height. Most systems are bolted so the section can be replaced easily but one manufacturer's system is largely welded. Therefore in this system the bottom of the front upright is a bolted leg section 2. When this sacrificial leg is damaged it can be replaced without having to remove the frame for repair or replacement, which would necessitate unloading a whole run of rack.
Sacrificial legs were originally developed in the 1980s for the British Supermarket Asda by pallet rack manufacturer Redirack who claim it has been independently tested by the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield and meets all the requirements of the SEMA code of practice, the required standard for pallet rack installations in the UK.