Silo Panel Alignment Assembly for Ground-Level Ring Construction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The construction of large silos faces challenges related to equipment requirements, safety, alignment, and quality of welding, particularly in traditional methods where cylindrical rings are stacked and welded from the base upwards.
Innovation Solution
An alignment device with a base frame and clamping/pressing units is used to align arced silo panels, allowing them to be joined to existing parts of the silo while the silo remains stationary, using clamping units to secure the panels and pressing units to ensure radial and vertical alignment, and a drive mechanism to move along the silo's circumference for seamless integration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the silo is raised to bring equipment to the construction level, then safety is improved by keeping equipment on the ground, but the complexity of the lifting system increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of raising the equipment to the construction level, the silo itself is raised to bring the construction level down to the equipment. This inversion of the traditional approach allows welding and alignment equipment to remain on the ground while the silo structure is lifted using hydraulic jacks positioned at the base.
Solution Approach 2:
Hydraulic jacks serve as intermediary devices between the ground-based equipment and the silo structure. These jacks transfer the lifting force from the ground level to elevate the silo segments, enabling the construction process without requiring equipment to be positioned at height.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional stacking and welding methods are used from the base upwards, then the construction process is straightforward, but alignment precision deteriorates due to cumulative errors
Solution Approach 1:
Silo segments are pre-assembled into complete cylindrical rings on the ground with precise alignment before being lifted into position. This preliminary assembly ensures that all alignment adjustments are made at ground level, eliminating cumulative alignment errors that would occur with sequential stacking from the base.
Solution Approach 2:
The silo is divided into discrete cylindrical ring segments that can be independently assembled and aligned on the ground before being lifted into their final positions. This segmentation allows for precise alignment of each complete ring without the cumulative errors associated with stacking individual segments.
3Reliability
If the silo is rotated to access different construction levels, then equipment remains on the ground, but the complexity and time required increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than rotating the silo to bring different levels to the equipment, the silo is vertically lifted to bring the equipment level down to the construction zone. This eliminates the time-consuming rotation operation while maintaining ground-based equipment positioning.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention generally relates to an alignment device for aligning arced silo panels to form a silo wall during construction of a silo. The invention may also relate to a lifting device for lifting silo panels during the construction of a silo. The invention may further relate to an arced silo panel for the construction of a silo, in particular to be used in combination with the alignment device and the lifting device for the construction of a silo. The invention may further relate to a method for constructing a silo, preferably using the alignment device, the lifting device, and/or the arced silo panels.