Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement
Abstract This study proposes a modification for the current design approach for square and rectangular silos that accounts for silos’ wall flexibility. First, the authors investigated the effect of wall stiffness symbolized by the wall width-to-thickness ratio (a/t) and silo’s dimensions, on the wal...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Engineering and Applied Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-024-00401-1 |
| _version_ | 1797247262168973312 |
|---|---|
| author | Mohamed H. Abdelbarr Osman M. O. Ramadan AlHussein Hilal A. M. Sanad Hany A. Abdalla |
| author_facet | Mohamed H. Abdelbarr Osman M. O. Ramadan AlHussein Hilal A. M. Sanad Hany A. Abdalla |
| author_sort | Mohamed H. Abdelbarr |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study proposes a modification for the current design approach for square and rectangular silos that accounts for silos’ wall flexibility. First, the authors investigated the effect of wall stiffness symbolized by the wall width-to-thickness ratio (a/t) and silo’s dimensions, on the wall-filling pressure using a recently validated 3D finite element model (FEM). The model was then employed to predict the pressures acting on silos’ walls accounting for the stress state in stored granular materials. Most design formulas and guidelines assume silos’ walls to be rigid. This assumption is acceptable for the case of rigid wall concrete silos; however, it is questionable for semi-rigid, flexible wall metal silos. Consequentially, it is crucial to determine the minimum wall stiffness necessary to secure the applicability of the current design rigid wall assumptions and to propose a way to deal with semi-rigid and flexible walls. To this end, several wall pressure distributions that correspond to filling steel silos with varied wall thicknesses were studied. A new adjustment to the Janssen technique was proposed for a better estimate of the wall-filling pressures for square and rectangular silos. In the case of prismatic silos, the Eurocode uses the Janssen equation together with an equivalent radius of a corresponding circular silo (with the same hydraulic radius) to determine the wall pressure. This method predicts pressure values that are practically accurate for rigid-wall silos, but its accuracy decreases for semi-rigid and flexible-wall silos. As an enhancement, the Janssen equation was modified in this research to generate more accurate pressure estimates based on the equivalent volume concept. The finite element results of several developed models with the same granular material were compared to the estimations of the newly established approach to verify the broad range of its applicability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:55:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4ad2caa76a8e432284c8d3f86c66e7a9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1110-1903 2536-9512 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:55:54Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Engineering and Applied Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-4ad2caa76a8e432284c8d3f86c66e7a92024-03-24T12:21:56ZengSpringerOpenJournal of Engineering and Applied Science1110-19032536-95122024-03-0171112610.1186/s44147-024-00401-1Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvementMohamed H. Abdelbarr0Osman M. O. Ramadan1AlHussein Hilal2A. M. Sanad3Hany A. Abdalla4Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo UniversityDepartment of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo UniversityDepartment of Construction and Building Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)Department of Construction and Building Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo UniversityAbstract This study proposes a modification for the current design approach for square and rectangular silos that accounts for silos’ wall flexibility. First, the authors investigated the effect of wall stiffness symbolized by the wall width-to-thickness ratio (a/t) and silo’s dimensions, on the wall-filling pressure using a recently validated 3D finite element model (FEM). The model was then employed to predict the pressures acting on silos’ walls accounting for the stress state in stored granular materials. Most design formulas and guidelines assume silos’ walls to be rigid. This assumption is acceptable for the case of rigid wall concrete silos; however, it is questionable for semi-rigid, flexible wall metal silos. Consequentially, it is crucial to determine the minimum wall stiffness necessary to secure the applicability of the current design rigid wall assumptions and to propose a way to deal with semi-rigid and flexible walls. To this end, several wall pressure distributions that correspond to filling steel silos with varied wall thicknesses were studied. A new adjustment to the Janssen technique was proposed for a better estimate of the wall-filling pressures for square and rectangular silos. In the case of prismatic silos, the Eurocode uses the Janssen equation together with an equivalent radius of a corresponding circular silo (with the same hydraulic radius) to determine the wall pressure. This method predicts pressure values that are practically accurate for rigid-wall silos, but its accuracy decreases for semi-rigid and flexible-wall silos. As an enhancement, the Janssen equation was modified in this research to generate more accurate pressure estimates based on the equivalent volume concept. The finite element results of several developed models with the same granular material were compared to the estimations of the newly established approach to verify the broad range of its applicability.https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-024-00401-1SilosRectangular silosFilling pressureSilos designEurocode |
| spellingShingle | Mohamed H. Abdelbarr Osman M. O. Ramadan AlHussein Hilal A. M. Sanad Hany A. Abdalla Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement Journal of Engineering and Applied Science Silos Rectangular silos Filling pressure Silos design Eurocode |
| title | Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement |
| title_full | Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement |
| title_fullStr | Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement |
| title_short | Current design of rectangular steel silos: limitations and improvement |
| title_sort | current design of rectangular steel silos limitations and improvement |
| topic | Silos Rectangular silos Filling pressure Silos design Eurocode |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-024-00401-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mohamedhabdelbarr currentdesignofrectangularsteelsiloslimitationsandimprovement AT osmanmoramadan currentdesignofrectangularsteelsiloslimitationsandimprovement AT alhusseinhilal currentdesignofrectangularsteelsiloslimitationsandimprovement AT amsanad currentdesignofrectangularsteelsiloslimitationsandimprovement AT hanyaabdalla currentdesignofrectangularsteelsiloslimitationsandimprovement |