Proceedings of the 7th Iniernaiumal Workmg Conference on Stored-product Protection.

- Volume 2

Underground grain storage engineering

Lm Zaiyun' and Wu Lma2

Abstract civilization, and so with the underground storage. It is

recorded in the histoncal documents that Chinese learned
This article discusses the project of underground gram
how to store gram under the ground WIth the help of natural
storage m China. This project is charactenzed by low-
low temperature in the Age of Yangsao Culture of primrtrve
temperature, damp-proof, antiseptic, moth-proof, mould-
society 5000 - 6000 years ago For the underdeveloped
proof, quake-proof, which IS agamst natural calamities. It IS
cultivating condition and productivity, the quantity of
Important m preservmg environment, savmg land,
storage is quite hnuted. Underground cellar WIth small top
developmg and usmg resources, and stonng gram
and WIder bottom was used at that time, the way of which
SCIentifically It has good social, environmental and
was simple, economic and effective.
economic benefit. It IS one of the outstandmg storage
A larger group of underground gram reserves facilities
facilities m China. It is worth usmg for reference by gram
were unearthed m the west suburb of Luoyang in Henan
scientific workers home and abroad
Provmce, wluch had been built since Han Dynasty One
square bm IS 3.44 meters long, 3. 1 meters wide and 1.4
meters high. The diameter of another round one IS 3.6
meters that IS 1.2 meters high. The largest one found so far
IS Hanjia Granary m Luoyang City, constructed m the throng
Introduction of Suiyang Emperor. It is 612 meters across from east to
west, 750 meters across from south to north, and about
'Food IS the first necessity for the people ' Gram IS the
450,000 square meters. The total volume IS capable to store
essential consumer goods for human beings, and baSIS of
about 125,000 tons, WhICh IS one of the largest official grain
social existence and development. It IS the key part of the
grananes in SUI and Tang Dynasties. One of the Hanjia
base of economic development, WhICh plays a special and
grananes excavated m 1969 is filled with black carbomzed
Important role Therefore, gram researchers from different
gram According to the data m historical relics, the
countnes try to work out advanced SCIentific gram stormg
techniques and facilities. diameters of those grananes count from 8 to 15 meters WIth
the height from 6 to 10 meters The total storage capacity is
For decades, a great number of successful ground storage
such as granary with horn shape, granary with house shape, over 58 Is. As far as the construction and gram reservmg
measures are concerned, the raw clay of the wall,
and gram storage silo have been put mto use after contmual
condensed and baked, IS in bnck-red WIth board, covered by
hard work of practice, research and innovation by gram
researchers m China. ThIS paper studies underground gram board, gram chaff and reed mats. When the bm is filled, the
top is covered by grain chaff and reed mats, then sealed With
storage engmeenng, a kmd of new facility that was put mto
plaster, and fmally again covered by thick soil. It IS rare
use, learned from Chmese ancient storage techmque in
special histoncal settmg. It is really helpful to solve the throughout the world to underground grain storage on that
large scale, to which low-temperature is applied, and to
problems of worsenmg environmental condrtion, lmuted
farmland and natural resources. The fruitful achievements work on gram reserve and put It mto use in ancient times.

on this field WIll, practically and theoretically, improve The discovery of ancient techmque IS helpful for us to study

gram reserve condrtion. underground storage facility.

Development of the study on underground storage

History of Underground Grain Storage
The study on this topic began m 1960s. The first seminar
related to underground storage techmque was held by former
Ancient underground storage
Gram Mnustry m Sanmenxia City, Henan Province in 1965
Chma IS well known for ItS long hIstory and ancient Vanous kmds of underground storage bms such as honzontal
SIlo, vertIcal silo, granary With horn shape, with double-
1 Engmeenng DesIgn InstItute, Gram Bureau of FU]lan Provmce, curved arch shape, and so on, have ever smce been bUilt,
Fuzhou 350001, Chma funded on the speCial purpose of studymg and trail
2 Gram OffIce of Quanzhou, Quanzhou 362000, FUJIan,Chma constructIon, after years of hard work. Over years of

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 Proceedmqe of the 7th International Worhng Conference on Stored-product Protectum - Volume 2
application and testing, the second semmar concerned to
underground granary construction techmque was held by
Commercial Mmistry m Henan Provmce m 1970s Experts
from many provmces and cities were present this semmar.
Underground granary With horn shape cited m Henan
provmce was considered as the best one, and should be
populanzed Underground granary was then populanzed m
many provmces m Chma, ItS location was selected more
reasonably to overcome the disadvantage of low utilization
ratio of those granary built before Mechamzed and
automatic facilities of mtake and outtake gram were adopted
m construction. The cone-shape bottom replaced flat one for
automation grain discharge. Handcarts were replaced With
trucks or trains for gram loadmg and unloadmg operation,
savmg the labor force and mcreasmg availabihty of the
granary m underground stone granary. A large number of
underground bms were built With the encouragement of our
admuustration known as 'Deeper caves dug, and more gram
stored' Based on the Improvement of the study and
application on underground gram storage, National
Underground Granary Management Expenence-exchangmg
Conference was held by Commerce Mmistry m Liaonmg
Province m 1984 The operation and management of
expenence was summanzed, many scientific data on
underground gram reservmg were avahable , and
underground gram storage techmques were future
developed. The underground gram storage facility with
Chmese characters therefore came mto bemg, reservmg a
lot of gram m Chma and WIth high benefits
Success in Underground
Grain Storage
Outstanding low-temperature effect
As gram IS somethmg Irving, If It IS stored under 15°C,
some destructive insects and rmcroorgamsms can no longer
exist, grow or reproduce, and gram Itself declmes and even
IS qurte weak m breath than under regular temperature So
the nutnent substances m gram slows the loss of catabolism
Gram stored under low temperature IS safe Gram reserved
WIth the temperature lower than 20°C, quaSI-low
temperature, can achIeve SImIlareffect as mentioned above
How to lower the temperature? There are two ways: the
fIrst IS natural low temperature, the other IS artifICially
lowered temperature, whIch by usmg refngeratmg machmes
or aIr-conditioners to realize ventilation and coolmg
However, low-temperature of underground storage can be
achIeved naturally or almost naturally Accordmg to the data
of the study on underground gram storage, there are
d1fferences m temperature changmg The temperature of
gram m ground storage IS affected by that of the granary
WhICh IS mfluenced by aIr temperature; whIle the
temperature of the gram m underground storage IS
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mfluenced by that of the granary which by that of ground
that ISaffected by air temperature. Moreover, smce ground
IS good at heat insulation, temperature vanation IS m
reverse proportion to the depth of strata; the lower the
stratum IS, the more stable the temperature Will be. The
temperature about 16 meters underground called mvanant
ground-temperature strata, the annual range of temperature
fluctuation IS 0.1 °C only. The actual temperature of strata
WIth mvanant temperature IS different With the vanation m
latitude and SOlIproperty. It IS low m high-latitude north
Chma, and high m low-latitude south, seemg table 1
From this table, low temperature m underground granary
IS SUItable for high and rruddle latitude regions m Chma,
smce the constant temperature m underground granary m
low latitude IS comparatively high However, WIth the
development of SCIence and technology, the expense of
coolmg the underground granary dynarmcally is much lower
than that of refngeratmg the ground granary, for the
constant temperature m the underground granary IS
considered as the value when coolmg WIth the highest
temperature not more than 20°C.
Good damp-proof effect
Gram storage ISaffected by moisture. The waterproof and
damp-proof structure plays an essential role m moisture of
underground granary If the granary IS m good airtight and
damp-proof condition, It IS basically m constant hurmdrty
condmon, Smce the underground granary IS located inside
soil, It ISm good airtight condition If the door of the granary
ISconstructed scientifically ThIS problem can be solved m
Chma Those underground bins rebuilt from CIvilair-defense
shelters With airtight doors of better quality provide a better
airtight condition.
The treatment on drainage, waterproof and damp-proof
plays an essential role in underground granary construction.
Reliable measures should be taken, such as building filtering
wall, SIde ditch, fence drain, mam ditch and water drammg
appliance to dram off water which entered from rock cracks
and soil Flexible and rrgid waterproof and damp-proof
treatments are effectrve WIth the development technology
for water and damp-proof matenals, the populanzatIon of
underground storage facIlIty becomes more and more
promIsmg m recent years New fleXIble water-proof
matenals IS better than old ones at anti-permeatIOn,
adheSIon of base course, remammg stable when the
temperature changmg, and anti-agmg, whIch does not flow
when temperature grows hIgh or does not crack when It
becomes low WIth the technology Improvement on new
matenal, waterproof and damp-proof treatment became
more convement, effective and reasonable.
The gram quality stored m underground bms IS dIrectly
related to relatIve humIlity If the humIdIty of the granary
grows too hIgh, the whole ecosystem WIll speed up its
 Proceedings of the 7th Internatwnal Working Conference 017., Stored-product Protection - Volume 2

metabolism, which can result m grain heatmg, worms and Therefore, successful water and damp control with low
mould If the humidity is too low, the grain will suffer temperature solves the key problem in safe underground
water loss, quicker aging, which can influence the quality of grain storage.
the grain and cause the difficulty of its processmg.

Table 1. latitude and underground granary constant temperature m seventeen cities and counties in China.

Location Latitude Tempera ture "C Area

HainanC center part) 19° 29 Regular temperature

Nanling, Guangxi 22° 24

Fuzhou, Fujian 26° 22

Cangnan, Zhejiang 27° 20

Dongtou, Zhejiang 27° 19

Chongqing, Sichuan 29° 19 Quasi-low temperature

Xiangshan, Zhejiang 29° 18

Zhenhai, Zhejiang 29° 18

Daishan, Zhejiang 30° 18

Hangzhou, Zhejiang 30° 18

Shengsi, Zhejiang 30° 17

Songjiang, Shanghai 31° 17

Lianyungang ,Jiangsu 34° 16

Yantai, Shandong 37° 15

Changdao,Shandong 37° 14 Low temperature

Luda, Liaoling 38° 12

Yitong.Jilin 43° 10
Sources: Gram and 011 storage, by Nanjmg Gram College(l985)

protein of wheat is 12.9% WIth no changing, fat is 2.9%

Slower grain aging and deterioration rate
WIth additional 0.5 %, full-sugar amount slightly lower,
The quality of gram under regular storage often gets titration acid IS 0.38 - 0.4% which is normal. In addition,
worse as the storage life grows longer. According to the the fatty acid rose steadily from 8.6 to 25.2 KOH mg/
study, bad quality of gram is chiefly caused by gram heatmg 100g, while it would nsen to 43.8 KOH mg / 100g under
and molding, which resulted from the activity of regular temperature; VItamin B is 3.6 - 3.7 fJ-g almost
microorganism and respiration of gram Itself. During tlus remains stable; flour processmg techmcal quality and bakmg
process, mould spores grow in large number, and this Will quality are better than those under regular temperature.
influence the quality of the grain as both seed and food The The data of domestic underground gram reserve have shown
gram embryo suffers lower germinatmg abihty because of that underground gram storage penod IS 50 - 100% longer
mould, since faster respiration and microorgamsm than that of ground storage, and can slower grain
decomposmg nutrient substance. The gram weight, nutnent deterioration and maintain gram edible and seed quality.
value and processing quahty WIll be reduced. However,
Powerful earthquake-proof and anti-calamity
grain in underground bins can avoid heatmg and moldenng
and can put off Its aging because of low temperature and Granary storage is important for a country. It IS necessary
humihty control. ThIS is able to slow Its deterioration for the stabihty and development of a nation or SOCIety to
especially for mamtaming Its quality as food and in cookmg. keep enough grain storage Granary engmeenng is
The low temperature preservation research on durum stipulated as one of the key earthquake-proof engineering
wheat with 11.9% water was earned out m Britain. After projects, so It should require high quake-proof rank and
sixteen- year storage, no distinct mould or abnormal odor and more capital invested for higher construction cost.
taste were found, and germination percentage IS above Underground grain storage is better at earthquake-proof than
87%. In accordance with chemical analysrs, the crude ground one. Investigation and research after earthquake in
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 Proceeduujs of the 7th Internatumal Worhng Conference 011, Stored-product Protectum - Yolume 2

Japan, in which earthquake often attacks, showed that countries grow constantly, and this results m hmited land,
earthquake is less destructive for underground buildings than more condensed located buildings and less green areas.
for ground ones, and underground buildings have many Ecological balance has been destroyed. People's health
advantages. This viewpoint is proved by the investigation condition is affected by poor environment. The space on
report after great earthquake m Tangshan of Chma , and a earth is lmuted, while the population is mcreasmg. The
underground granary With horn shape m Inner Mongoha, relation between urban construction area and agncultural
whose cover is consohdated With steel remforce concrete, area is mtense. Smce it mainly hes m the City, grain storage
expenenced an earthquake of 6.3 degree, and had no clear facihty takes up the space underground, which has
destructive signs. Smce earthquake is less strong for undemable social benefits of relaxmg the mcreasmgly
underground construction than ground one, underground intense soil, energy and pollution crises.
gram storage is more powerful m earthquake-proof and able Underground gram storage regamed rts vitality and
to prevent grain storage from bemg attacked by natural benefits m the national situation of China People developed
disasters. and used milhons-of-square-meter crvil air-tight shelters
Underground gram storage is better at typhoon, built With billions of capital and hard work by rmhtary and
whirlwind, tornado and hall prevention than ground storage Civil forces called on With of encouragement of 'Deeper
facility. caves dig and more gram stored' in special histoncal period.
They exploited which resources of civil underground shelters
Low pest rate
already existed by rebuilding them rather than mvest more
Gram stored is partially damaged by msects Most msects raw matenals or capital to achieve great benefit. Thus the
start growmg at about 15°C, and dying naturally m 100 - apphcation of underground space saved more money and is
200 days at the constant temperature of under 1YC. The more productive. One example of which was Underground
growth and generatmg of msects depend on humidity m the Granary 803 m Hangzhou of Chma
granary if the temperature is under 15°C. Low humidity can
Good environmental effect and long-run
prevent msects Smce underground granary is damp-proof
and under low effective accumulative temperature, the development strategy
generations of msects is less than gram stored under regular Underground gram storage reserves gram scientifically
tempera ture. and saves space for green area. The environmental benefit is
Molding is another factor in gram storage, such as the great. It manages to keep ecological balance and to alleviate
effect by fuuxicin , candidukin, and astennllnu: nuter , 'heat island effect' m the City and deterioration of ecological
and so on. Temperature change, humility and water environment.
percentage is three mam factors m preventmg Accordmg to 'The Nmth Five-Years Program of National
microorganisms. Most microbes can be controlled be hmitmg Economic and Social Development' and the sketch of long-
water percentage of the grain stored. Underground gram term goals m 2010. gram output Will nse from 465 mil tons
storage is effective m reservmg gram due to its damp-proof, m 1995 to 490 - 500 mil tons in 2000. The mcreased 25 - 35
lower temperature and limited water percentage of grain. mil-ton gram needs 70 thousands mu land, equal to 4667
The data about the harm of msects and microbes m various hectare for building granary if reservmg every 100 ton gram
years tells the advantage of underground gram storage. needs 100-mu land To save so much land will be quite
In addition, underground gram storage luruts the growth beneficial for the environment at the turn of centuries. As
and generatmg of msects by the low temperature. It is environment and land are basic conditions for humans to
airtight, cut off from the outside world With a few doors and survive and develop, it is more important for Chma to save
few windows, so it is hard for insects to enter. In this way, land and keep environmental balance, m which is only of 7 %
a httle or httle chemical mixture is used to preserve the farmland, 21 % gram output, and 22% population compared
quahty of gram and avoid food pollution and harm to the
respectively to each total sum of world. Human beings Will
people.
never survive or develop Without good ecological
environment and constantly available natural resources. The
Typical Benefits application of underground grain storage facility is one of
those long-term strategies m China, which protects the
Good social effects environment and ecology. This contribution is carried out by
With the development of the urban areas, the the people of today, but it Will benefit following
underground grain storage could bring remarkable social genera tions.
benefits. The population of the cities all over the world
Great economic effect
became double m the past thirty years, and goes on
increasing. The Cities m both developed and developmg Lower cost of grain reserve
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 Proceedmqs of the 7th Internatumai Worhng Conference on Stored-product Protection - Volurne 2

Gram stored m underground bins IS almost in good Chma, and m Rome m 1982 prepared a report about
condition, due to low temperature and hurrudrty usually underground granary of Chma. UNFAO also VISIted 803
without overturnmg or fumigatmg. As fresh penod IS Underground Granary m Hangzhou province.
comparatively longer, labor and storage fee will be reduced. Food, energy, environment and resources are key Issues
The average preservation amount of gram m underground at the turn of centunes. Underground grain storage in Chma
granaries of each person IS more than that of ground succeeds to facihtate gram reserve, save energy, protect
grananes. It is shown in relevant data that the cost of environment and land, and use underground space.
underground grain storage IS lower than that of ground one. International exchange of SCIence and technology IS popular.
(For details please refer to technology of grain storage m In this way, people abroad can know more about China. The
China) mterchange of this techmque will increase technical
Energy saving exchange and cooperation, and help international
Most underground granary can work without artificial researchers to learn about it It IS sure that underground
refrigeratmg and save energy smce It IS at low or quasi-low gram storage facility of Chma will benefit human beings in
temperature and not influenced by the weather. Energy used future.
in artificial refngerating underground granary IS much less
than that in ground bms even in low-latitude area to quasi- References
low temperature. The constant temperature of underground
granary IS lower than that of ground one. Therefore, it Food and Agncultural Organization of the Umted Nations,
saves money and IS quite beneficial. 1982 Granary construction m Chma Zhengzhou (in
Land saving Chmese}, Zhengzhou Gram SCIence Research Institute of
Underground granary takes up less land than ground bms Commercial Department
in China. Less or no farmland is taken for underground bms Hangzhou underground granary, No 803, 1990.
to meet the need of our national situation of large population Outstanding effect of Underground granary 803 m
with limited land. It is economic to rebuild former CIV11 Hangzhou. Underground Space (m Chinese).
underground shelters to save land and achieve great Guan Yansheng and Shen Jiawei, ed., 1982. Low-
economic benefit rather than take up more land or build temperature storage (in Chmese ). Beijing Agncultural
ground granary with largest amount of money. Press
Constructum. fee samng Gram storage Department, Nanjing Grain Economy College,
The cost of constructmg underground granary is lower 1985. Grain and all Storage, Nanjmg.
than that of ground one about 50 - 70%, for It saves Li Xiangnan and Song Sluman , 1992. An mvestigation on
constructing matenal. The cost of ground granary during economic Issues of underground space utihzation (in
'The EIghth Development Program of National economy and Chmese). Underground Space. June.
Society m Five Years' is about 10 milhon yuan or even Lu Xicun, 1982. Good effects of the application of CIvil air-
higher for capacity of every 50000 tons. As grain output will defense shelters (in Chinese). Underground Space. April.
increase 25 - 35 nulhon tons in 2000 than that in 1995, it Lin Zaiyun, 1988. An investigation on the utilization of CIvil
saves construction cost to build underground granary, which air-defense shelters for buildmg grain warehouse (m
will go further If the former CIvil underground shelters are Chmese) . The Ttudy on Gram Economy No 4, Gram
reconstructed and used as granary. It only needs damp-proof college of Naming.
and airtight techniques, so it is economical. State Grain Storage Burean m Chma, ed. 1994 . The
collection of gram storage in Chma. Chongqing (in
Conclusion Chinese). Chongqing Umversity Press.
Wang Yuji, 1992. A primary approach to the construction of
From ancient times till today, underground grain storage has underground grain and food warehouse (in Chinese).
grown more promising especially in recent decades of Underground Space. June.
SCIentific study and research in Chma. It IS well known to Xu Zongren and Song Wenzhong, ed. , 1995. Grain storage
the world. Umted Nations Food and Agriculture and management (m Chinese). Beijmg, Commercial Press.
Orgamzation VIsited and investigated storage facility m

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