ABSTRACT
Upright cylindrical thin-walled steel containment structures, like silos and tanks, are commonly supported on discrete supports or columns to permit access beneath the hopper for the gravity withdrawal of the contents. In practical silo structures a variety of different support designs are used. The construction details of these designs depend mainly on the magnitude of the local support forces that are to be introduced into the shell wall at its lower edge. The number of supporting columns and the design of the cylinder-cone transition play important roles in determining the local load carrying capacity of the silo shell wall. A simple transition ring may be sufficient in light structures, but in larger silos a skirt may be added, creating a triangular hollow section around the circumference (Fig. 3.1). In large silos, several alternative forms of ring beams may be provided (Fig. 3.1(c)). In addition,
Figure 3.1 Circular planform silos with different constructional forms of the barrel-hopper transition: (a) light silo construction with annular plate ring stiffener; (b) medium construction with integrated transition ring and triangular hollow cross-section; (c) heavy construction with external ring beam.
