Reducing hoop stress in silos
AssigneeSouth Australian Co-Operative Bulk Handling Limited
InventorBruce L. Johinke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Means for reducing hoop stress in a silo cell comprising a grain tube located in the lower part of the silo cell, the wall of the grain tube having apertures at the silo base allowing entry of granular material into the grain tube, and a restrictor below the apertures restricting the material flow so that when the silo cell first discharges the material, all of that discharge is through the upper ends of the tube, downwardly through the tube and outwardly from the silo cell through valve means beyond the lower end of the tube and restrictor.
Claims18
Means for reducing hoop stress in a grain silo of the type having cylindrical walls upstanding from a base and defining therewith a cell having an outlet adjacent said base comprising, an upstanding grain tube located centrally within the silo and extending part way up said cell, support means for supporting the upper end of said tube on said side walls, said tube including a side wall and having an open upper end and an open lower end communicating with said outlet, said tube side wall being provided with a plurality of apertures adjacent said lower end arranged symmetrically about the central vertical axis of said tube, a gate valve for closing said base outlet and for opening said base outlet to permit grain above said tube upper end to enter said tube upper end and flow downwardly through said tube out said base outlet, and a restrictor in said tube below and operatively associated with said apertures to restrict the flow of grain from said cell into said tube through said apertures during said grain flow until the grain level in said cell corresponds to the level of the upper end of said tube and thereafter to permit grain flow from said cell into said tube through said apertures out said base outlet.
A grain storage facility, comprising:
- a storage vessel defined by a vertically extending cylindrical wall having a base and a top;
- an elongated cylindrical discharge tube having a vertically oriented open upper end defining a first inlet positioned coaxially within said vessel between the base and the top of said vessel and a second inlet at the base of the vessel for discharging granular substance from said vessel, said second inlet being a symmetrical array of apertures about the axis of said tube;
- and
- a symmetrical restriction in said tube below said second inlet for restricting flow of grain along said tube and thereby restricting flow of grain into said tube through said apertures while grain is flowing through said tube via said first inlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.