Overpressure, accidents and repair of silos

Abstract

No. 78 of Informes de la Construcción published a paper by Mr. Reimbert, in which a study was made of the turbulences in the suction currents which are used in wheat storing silos. The present paper, which is a continuation of the previous one, gives practical methods for calculating the strength of silo structures. These methods are based on the idea of introducing a perforated tube into the mass of material stored in the silo. The tube makes it possible to reduce the emptying overpressures. It is possible to find a coefficient to determine the true emptying pressure. This also enables the calculation of the thickness and amount of reinforcement of the silo structure, which is usually cellular and cylindrical in shape. Another aspect discussed in this paper is that dealing with accidents and repairs of the cracks which arise due to overpressures during the process of emptying. The conclusions and recommendations developed in this study are applicable both to reinforced concrete and metal silos.