Granular material storage container and associated method

Abstract

A granular material storage container and associated method. The storage container includes a foundation, a peripheral wall supported on the foundation, a plurality of vertical stiffeners attached to the peripheral wall, and a horizontal connector connecting the peripheral wall to the foundation. The horizontal connector extends between at least a pair of vertical stiffeners and operates for load transfer from the peripheral wall to the foundation during single pass sweeping.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 563,766, filed on Apr. 20, 2004. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.INTRODUCTION [0002] Storage containers for bulk granular material, such as grain bins, are subjected to considerable loads in a variety of directions and combinations. These loads include environmental loads, such as snow, wind and seismic loads, the weight of the granular material stored in the container, the weight of the container, and the weight of supported structures, such as conveyors, walkways, etc. The loads on a prior art grain bin 50, a portion of which is illustrated in FIG. 1, are transferred to the foundation 52, which supports the grain bin 50, through the roof (not shown), the peripheral wall 54 and the vertical stiffeners 56 of the grain bin 50. Therefore, adequate anchorage of the grain bin 50 to the foundation 52 is essential to prevent ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004] Bin sweeping is conventionally done with a horizontal auger 68 pinned at the center 70 of the foundation 52 and slowly rotating around the grain bin 50. The auger 68 draws grain from the grain pile 64 toward the center 70 and down the well 66. As the auger 68 travels, eliminating the grain pile 64, the auger 68 creates an asymmetrical pile of grain 72 with a resultant horizontal force H, which is at a maximum when the grain bin 50 is about half-swept. To reduce horizontal loads generated during bin sweeping and the effect of such loads on large diameter grain bin structures, augers 68 with sectional / extendable lengths have been used, such that the emptying of the grain bin 50 can be completed in two or more passes of the auger 68, thereby reducing the magnitude of the horizontal force H. For a double pass sweep, FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate respectively the grain pile 64 before the first pass sweep, after the first pass sweep, and after the second pass sweep.

[0006] Although double or multiple pass augers 68 have been used to reduce the magnitude of the horizontal force, their use requires bin entry by operators between passes to extend the length of the auger 68. There is, therefore, a need for improved and cost efficient large grain bins that reduce or eliminate the need for bin entry during bin sweeping, and thus, improve safety during grain unloading. SUMMARY

Problems solved by technology

Storage containers for bulk granular material, such as grain bins, are subjected to considerable loads in a variety of directions and combinations.

Attempts to accommodate the horizontal loads by increasing the number and size of anchor bolts 62 can still result in shear failures of the anchor bolts 62 under shear loads produced by single pass sweeping, especially in grain bins of a diameter greater than about 72 feet.

The method includes providing the storage container with a primary support structure structurally sufficient for forces generated by multiple pass sweeping, but structurally insufficient for forces generated by single pass sweeping, and providing the storage container with a secondary support structure, which, in combination with the primary support structure, is structurally sufficient for forces generated by single pass sweeping.

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