Literature Review Buckling experiments on steel silo transition junctions.

Large elevated steel silos for the storage of bulk solids generally consist of a cylindrical vessel above a conical discharge hopper supported on a cylindrical skirt. The cone-cylinderskirt transition junction is subject to a large circumferential compressive force which is derived from the horizontal component of the meridional tension in the conical hopper, so either a ring is provided or the shell walls are locally thickened to strengthen the junction. Extensive theoretical studies have examined the buckling and collapse strengths of these junctions, leading to theoretically based design proposals. However, no previous experimental study on steel silo transition junctions has been reported due to the considerable difficulties associated with testing these thin-shell junctions at model scale. This paper presents the results of a series of tests on cone-cylinder-skirt-ring junctions in steel silos under simulated bulk solid loading. In addition to the presentation of test results including geometric imperfections and failure behavior, the determination of buckling modes and loads based on displacement measurements is examined in detail. Buckling experiments on steel silo transition junctions II: Finite element modeling This paper is concerned with the finite element modeling of the experiments on cone-cylinder-skirt-ring transition junctions in steel silos under simulated bulk solid loading presented in the companion paper. Before presenting the finite element results, the issue of modeling the interaction between the stored solid and the shell wall throughout the loading process is first examined. Results from nonlinear bifurcation analyses using the perfect shapes and nonlinear analyses using the measured imperfect shapes are then presented and compared with the experimental results. These comparisons show that despite the structural complexity of steel silo transition junctions, their behavior can be satisfactorily predicted by finite element analyses taking into account a number of important factors including geometric imperfections, effects of welding and the interaction between the junction and the stored solid. Next, the paper presents results of nonlinear analyses of these junctions with assumed eigenmode-affine imperfections. These results shed considerable light on the effect of ring buckling on the load-carrying capacity of transition junctions. Finally, the implications of the experimental and finite element results for the design of steel silo transition junctions are discussed.

Bursting of a corn silo - An interdisciplinary failure analysis G. Piskoty 1, S.A. Michel, M. Zgraggen A corn silo made from corrugated sheet was the subject of a complete structural failure during standard operation. The main goals of the investigations performed were to identify possible causes for the accident (i.e., list of hypotheses), to choose the most probable one and to provide evidence by experimental and theoretical analysis. Metallographic analysis of the cracked sheet showed significant thickness reduction due to corrosion. The standard strength analysis resulted in a generally high stress level and a high likelihood of cracking in the corroded area. However, the bursting of the silo could not be explained alone based on this calculation. Therefore, with help of fracture mechanics it was assessed whether an unstable propagation of the initial crack was realistic. The general results of this study led to the conclusion that the bursting of the silo was most probably due to unstable propagation of a crack originated in the corroded area of the sheet metal near the inspection window. Establishing stress state of cylindrical metal silos using finite element method: Comparison with ENV 1993
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Juan3"2, J.M. Morana, M.I. Guerraa, A. Coutoa, F. Ayugab, P.J. Aguadoa

There is at present a great deal of interest in developing new methods and calculation tools for use in the study and measurement of stress states in shell metal structures. The finite element method (FEM) is a numerical method which permits this kind of study, and which is put forward in the European experimental standard, ENV 1993, as an accurate and reliable calculation tool. This study presents different three-dimensional models whose distinguishing feature is the simulation of both stored granular material and silo walls, without resorting to simplifications. The models developed predict the stress state of cylindrical metal silos flat bottomed, subjected to the action of stored granular material in their interior. The behaviour assigned to the stored material is elastic, and that assigned to the structure is the classical bilinear elastic-perfectly plastic, typical of metallic materials such as steel. Two geometric parameters are analysed: height and thickness of the wall. The results obtained from numerical methods (hoop, meridional or vertical, normal and shear stresses) are compared with those obtained via ENV 1993-1-6

Thin metal cylindrical silo shells are vulnerable to buckling failures caused by the compressive wall friction force, particularly during eccentric discharge (which is usually difficult to avoid with regard to a non-homogeneous character of bulk solids). As a consequence, non-uniform horizontal wall pressures develop which contribute to (except of meridional bending) a non-symmetric distribution of compressive vertical wall forces. The buckling strength of shells depends on many different factors such as: form and amplitude of initial geometric imperfections, loading and material imperfections, type of joints, boundary conditions at ends, level of internal pressurization and stiffness of the stored bulk solid [1-4]. Metal silos are frequently built of thin-walled horizontally corrugated curved sheets strengthened by vertical stiffeners (columns) distributed uniformly around the silo circumference and connected with screws due to an economical steel consumption and a small silo weight [1]. In those silos, horizontally corrugated wall sheets carry horizontal tensile forces caused by horizontal wall pressure of a bulk solid and vertical columns carry vertical compressive forces exerted by wall friction stress from a bulk solid. Eurocode 3 [5] gives a simplified formula to calculate the buckling strength of vertical columns around the silo circumference, which does not take into account a real 3D buckling behavior of silo shells containing a silo fill. The aim of the paper is threefold: (a) to describe a failure case of large cylindrical metal silos composed of horizontally corrugated sheets strengthened by vertical columns (which failed by buckling), (b) to compare the calculated buckling strength from FE analyses with that given by Eurocode 3 [5] and (c) to predict the location and profile type of strengthening elements by using a sensitivity analysis. Both a linear buckling analysis and a non-linear FE analysis (with both geometric and material non-linearity) were carried out with a perfect and an imperfect silo shell by taking into account uniform and non-uniform loads exerted by a bulk solid (specified by Eurocode 1 [6]) and different initial wall geometric

Finite element analysis of a cylindrical silo shell under unsymmetrical pressure distributions Following regular design practice, the analysis of the state of stress developing in a silo shell under the pressures induced by the stored material requires first, the calculation of the design loads. The design loads may be calculated based on the guidelines offered by the corresponding Eurocode for actions [1]. The design approach adopted by the code requires that filling loads are composed of a fixed load and a free (patched) load considered to act on any part of the silo wall [1]. Accordingly, following the code's guidance, the fixed load after filling is calculated from the corresponding equations of Janssen's theory. The patch pressure approach had already been introduced by the ISO and DIN codes before being adopted by the Eurocode draft [2]. The patch pressure design approach accounts for the potential development of unsymmetrical pressures due to the stored material, which, being unavoidable even in axisymmetric silos with concentric filling, may introduce significant bending moments (note that unsymmetric loading conditions may develop as a result of geometric imperfections of the structure and probabilistic changes of the bulk material properties). Very high localized compressive membrane stresses may develop in the wall of thin, steel silos under a patch load. Design guidance against the potential development of buckling within a limited silo wall area under a localised compression is not provided in design codes or standards [3]. In fact, the patch pressure represents an oversimplifying equivalent loading scheme assumed to simulate the random un- symmetrical loading components of the filling loads [4]. Note that a similar approach applies to discharge load calculations [1]. However, real pressure distributions on a silo may differ significantly from those calculated based on the Eurocode, including the patch pressure consideration. The resulting states of stress under real pressure distributions may yield critical situations not predicted by the normal design process. This paper deals with the analysis of the behaviour and the state of stress developing in a silo shell under real pressure distributions. The main objective here is to analyse the behaviour of the silo under measured un- symmetrical pressures rather, than introduce or modify design procedures for actions in order to take care of the asymmetric features of these distributions. Introducing new design procedures for actions (e.g. in the place of the patch load approach) would require much more systematic experimental research effort on establishing a relationship between measured pressure distributions and the basic Jannsen's theory-based uniform design pressures under storing and discharge. Then, the asymmetric features of the measured pressures could be related to an equivalent or revised design patch pressure approach. The investigation of the effects of the measured unsymmetrical pressures on the shell structure behaviour, presented in this paper, emphasises the need for such experimental work and subsequently, for developing a more reliable design pressure approach.

Finite element analysis under different boundary conditions of the filling of cylindrical steel silos having an eccentric hopper P. Vidala'3, E. Gallegob, M. Guaitac, F. Ayugad A three-dimensional finite element analysis was made of the filling of cylindrical silos having an eccentric hopper, using different boundary conditionssilos supported at the transition or on discrete columns. The analysis included the options of the presence or absence of reinforcement in the transition and walls. The results for the pressures on the wall for a flexible wall and all the boundary conditions were compared with those for a silo with a rigid wall. The membrane stresses and meridional and circumferential bending moments were then evaluated in the silo wall and in the reinforcing elements. Lastly, the influence of the eccentricity of the hopper in a silo of intermediate eccentricity was analysed, and conclusions were drawn for the optimal design of these structures