Bunkers and silos may be classified as storage structures generally used for storing coal, cement, food grains and other granular materials. Reinforced concrete bunkers and silos have almost replaced the steel storage structures because of their ease of maintainance and superior architectural qualities, The present day cement factories invariably opt for single or a battery of silos to store the manufactured cement. The development of slip form method of casting of tall cylindrical reinforced concrete structures has result- ed in rapid construction of silos. 2.2 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUKNKER AND SILO (a) Bunkers Bunkers are shallow structures in which the plane of rupture of the material Stored meets the top horizontal surface of the material before meeting the opposite sides of the structure, as shown in Fig. 2.1, The angle of rupture is at (? =) from the horizontal, where 4 is the 2 angle of repose of the material. The side walls resist the lateral pressure and the total load of the material is supported by the floor of the bunker. The intensity of lateral presstire on the sides is determined by Rankine’s theory. (b) Silos In a silo, the vertical walls are considerably taller than the lateral dimen- sions resulting in a tall structure. Consequently the plane of rupture of the 2.3 DESIGN OF SQUARE OR RECTANGULAR BUNKERS The structural elements of a bunker are as shown in Fig. 2.3. The various parts are 1. The vertical side walls 2. Hopper bottom 3. Edge beams 4. Columns.