Structural Design of Light‐Gauge Silo Hoppers
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 116, Issue 7
Abstract
Elevated light‐gauge silos usually have a conical discharge hopper at the bottom. Although this hopper often carries much of the total weight of the stored solids within the silo, it can often be cold‐formed from thin steel sheet because the structural form is very efficient. However, guidance on the design of light‐gauge hopper structures is rare. The term light‐gauge is used here to describe the class of cold‐formed silo structure that is not restricted by a nominal minimum plate thickness requirement (e.g., 1/4 in. or 6 mm). This paper addresses several aspects of the design of light‐gauge hoppers. Current proposals concerning hopper loads are discussed first, and recommendations are made. Appropriate structural analysis is then presented. The potential failure modes of the hopper are identified, and corresponding strength checks described.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Abdel‐Sayed, G., Monasa, F., and Siddall, W. (1985). “Cold‐formed steel farm structures part I: Grain bins.” J. Struct. Engrg., ASCE, 111(10), 2065–2089.
2.
Barthelmes, W. (1977). “Ermittlung der schnittafte in kreiszylindrischen silos mit kegelrmigem boden.” Bauingenieur, 52, 423–435 (in German).
3.
“Design loads for buildings; loads on silos.” (1986). DIN 1055, Sheet 6, Sep., Deutsches Institut fur Normung, Berlin, W. Germany.
4.
Fisher, J. W., and Struik, J. H. A. (1974). Guide to design criteria for bolted and riveted joints. John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y.
5.
Fuchssteiner, W., and Olsen, O. W. (1979). “Ein problem der stahlblechsilos.” Bauingenieur, 54(1), 17–21 (in German).
6.
Gaylord, E. H., and Gaylord, C. N. (1984). Design of steel bins for storage of bulk solids. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
7.
Gorenc, B. E., Hogan, T. J., and Rotter, J. M., eds. (1986). Guidelines for the assessment of loads on bulk solids containers. Inst. of Engrs., Canberra, Australia.
8.
Hofmeyr, A. G. S. (1986). “Pressures in bins.” Thesis presented to the University of Witwatersrand, at Johannesburg, S. Africa, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
9.
Janssen, H. A. (1895). “Versuche uber getreidedruck in silozellen.” Zeitschrift des Vereines Deutscher Ingenieure, 39(35), 1045–1049 (in German).
10.
Jenike, A. W., Johanson, J. R., and Carson, J. W. (1973). “Bin loads—part 2; Concepts; part 3: Mass flow bins.” J. Engrg. Ind. Trans. ASME, 95(1), Series B, 1–12.
11.
Ketchum, M. S. (1907). “Design of walls, bins and grain elevators.” 1st Ed., McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y.
12.
McLean, A. G. (1985). “Initial stress fields in converging channels.” Bulk Solids Handl., 5(2), 49–54.
13.
Motzkus, U. (1974). “Belastung von Siloboden und Auslaufrichtern durch kornige Schuttguter.” Thesis presented to the Technical University of Braunschweig, at Braunschweig, W. Germany, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
14.
Ooi, J. Y., and Rotter, J. M. (1987). “Elastic predictions of pressures in conical silo hoppers.” Research Report R555, School of Civ. and Mining Engrg., Univ. of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
15.
“Recommended practice for design and construction of concrete bins, silos, and bunkers for storing granular materials.” (1977). ACI‐313‐77, Amer. Concr. Inst., Detroit, Mich.
16.
Rotter, J. M. (1982). “Analysis of ringbeams in column‐supported bins.” Eighth Australasian Conf. on Mech. of Struct. and Matls., Univ. of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.
17.
Rotter, J. M. (1983). “Effective cross‐sections of ringbeams and stiffeners for bins.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Bulk Matls. Storage Handling and Transp., Inst. of Engrs., Newcastle, Australia, 329–334.
18.
Rotter, J. M. (1984). “Elastic behaviour of isolated column‐supported ringbeams.” J. Constr. Steel Res., 4(3), 235–252.
19.
Rotter, J. M. (1985). “Analysis and design of ringbeams.” Design of Steel Bins for the Storage of Bulk Solds, J. M. Rotter, ed., Univ. of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 164–183.
20.
Rotter, J. M. (1986a). “On the significance of switch pressures at the transition in elevated steel bins.” Proc., Second Int. Conf. on Bulk Matls. Storage Handling and Transp., Inst. of Engrs., Wollongong, Australia, Jul., 82–88.
21.
Rotter, J. M. (1986b). “Recent studies of the stability of light gauge steel silo structures.” Proc., Eighth Int. Specialty Conf. on Cold‐Formed Steel Structs., St. Louis, Mo., Nov., 543–562.
22.
Rotter, J. M. (1987a). “The buckling and plastic collapse of ring stiffeners at cone/cylinder junctions.” Proc., Int. Colloquium on Stability of Plate and Shell Structs., Ghent, The Netherlands, Apr., 449–456.
23.
Rotter, J. M. (1987b). “Membrane theory of shells for bins and silos.” Trans. Mech. Engrg., Inst. of Engrs., Australia, ME12(3), 135–147.
24.
Rotter, J. M. (1987c). “Bending theory of shells for bins and silos.” Trans. Mech. Engrg., Inst. of Engrs., Australia, ME12(3), 148–159.
25.
Rotter, J. M. (1988). “The structural design of light gauge silo hoppers.” Research Report R571, School of Civ. and Mining Engrg., Univ. of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
26.
Silos: Draft design code for silos, bins, bunkers and hoppers. (1987). British Materials Handling Board and British Standards Inst., London, U.K.
27.
Teng, J. G., and Rotter, J. M. (1988). “Plastic collapse of steel silo hoppers,” Research Report R568, School of Civil and Mining Engineering, Univ. of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
28.
Trahair, N. S., et al. (1983). Structural design of steel bins for bulk solids. Australian Inst. of Steel Constr., Sydney, Australia.
29.
Walker, D. M. (1966). “An approximate theory for pressure and arching in hoppers.” Chem. Engrg. Sci., 21, 975–997.
30.
Walters, J. K. (1973). “A theoretical analysis of stresses in axially‐symmetric hoppers and bunkers.” Chem. Engrg. Sci., 28(3), 779–89.
31.
Wozniak, R. S. (1979). “Steel tanks.” Structural Engineering Handbook, 2nd Ed., Section 23, E. H. and C. N. Gaylord, eds., McGraw‐Hill, New York, N.Y.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 116 • Issue 7 • July 1990
Pages: 1907 - 1922
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jul 1, 1990
Published in print: Jul 1990
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.