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Calculation of an ultimate load value of a silo with geometric imperfections in

the shape of eigenforms

Conference Paper · October 2013

DOI: 10.1201/b15684-139

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Calculation of an ultimate load value of a silo with geometric
imperfections in the shape of eigenforms
M. Oziębło, K. Winkelmann & J. Górski
Gdansk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland DRAFT VERSION!
Article published on pages 555-558 in:
Shell Structures: Theory and Applications. -
Vol. 3/ ed. W. Pietraszkiewicz, J. Górski
Leiden: CRC Press/Balkema, 2014

ABSTRACT: The ultimate load value of a silo with initial geometric imperfections was measured.
The structure was loaded with wind. Imperfections were assumed as translations of the shell nodes from
perfect geometry taken from eigenforms and their combinations. Two variants of the maximum deflection
placement with respect to the direction of wind pressure were proposed. The first consists in applying the
maximum wind pressure to the element of maximum displacement outwards the silo shell, the second –
inwards the shell. A comparative analysis of critical wind pressure values was conducted – between imperfect
and perfect silo cases and between the silos with imperfections assumed as eigenmodes and as random fields.

1 INTRODUCTION

Geometric imperfections of slender shells made

at the execution stage are factors that affect the state
of the stress distribution in a construction, thus it is
necessary to properly take into account all geometric
imperfections at the design stage.
Standards contain limitations concerning the
maximum values of indentations but less attention
is paid to their shape and location. In the paper an
attempt was made to compare the strain state of
a structure of ideal geometry and a structure flawed
with an initial deflection. Assumption was made
that the initial deformation shape is consistent with
the eigenforms and their combinations.
The analysis was limited to the case of
Figure 1. Silo geometry, the sheet thickness graph and the
an aluminum silo model under wind load. elevation indication axis.

Static analysis was carried out using MSC Visual

2 THE SILO MODEL
The subject of this research was a silo model
presented and described in detail in previous works
e.g. in Golota et al. (2010).
A cylindrical aluminum silo with volume
V = 324 m3 and 25 m height installed on a steel
supporting construction was analyzed. The silo shell
consists of 10 rings, each 2.5 m high. Rings of the
shell are metal sheets of a different thickness,
ranging from 4 to 10.5 mm. The silo diameter is
constant and equals Dw = 4000 mm. The silo shell
and the dome were made of AlMg3 aluminum alloy
sheets whereas the silo funnel is made of AlMgSi1
aluminum. The silo is presented in Figure 1.
Nastran software. The model was discretized into
12076 finite elements joined at 11741 nodes.
The FE mesh is generated as regular only in the
area of the silo lateral surface.
3 THE WIND LOAD
3.1 Probabilistic description of the wind load
In this paper analysis was limited to the wind load
only. Because of its unpredictability, this type
of loading is a particularly dangerous factor
in structural design.
In the beginning, the results of tests performed in
the vicinity of Oksywie airport between 2006
and 2008 were used to describe the wind credibly.
They contained a list of 36 measurements of the
direction angle and the speed of wind.
In order to illustrate the variation of the angle of
attack of wind load at the given time a histogram
was used. It is shown in Figure 2 in the form of a
rose diagram.
Figure 2. The histogram of the incidence angle of the wind.
An assumption of arbitrariness of the angle of
wind attack in relation to the assumed initial
imperfection therefore seems reasonable when
analyzing an axisymmetric construction.
The speed of wind is characterized by the
following quantities: minimal value v min = 0 m s ,
maximal value v max = 24 m s , mean value
µ v = 10.77 m s , mode mv = 10.77 m s , median
ν v = 11.5 m s and standard deviation σ v = 3.7 m s .
All the above values are lesser than or equal to
v PN = 24 m s , which is recommended by polish
design standard and consequently the latter value
was used in further analysis.
3.2 Description of the wind load based on polish
design standard
The load mapping was conducted based on PN-
77/B-02011 polish standard. The calculated value of
the wind load is expressed by the following formula:
p = γ f ⋅ qk ⋅ β ⋅ Ce ⋅ C
It was assumed that the wind pressure, which is
independent on the construction height and the
incidence angle, is:
p w = γ f ⋅ q k ⋅ β = 1.30 ⋅ 0.35 kPa ⋅ 2.124 = 0.996 kPa.
However, after subsequent calculations, it turned
out that finding the critical wind pressure multiplier
is impossible in used commercial software if the
maximal wind pressure value is 0.996 kPa ≅ 1 kPa .
It was decided to resort to increasing the wind
pressure value to a level that would ensure that
a non-linear solution was reached. A value of 5 kPa
was finally adopted and it turned out to be sufficient
for the software.
In the formula (2) only the values of Ce and C
coefficients are variable, their product being
described by appropriate trigonometric functions.
A broader description of the wind load distribution
for this case can be found in Gołota et al. (2011).
The load is shown in Figure 3.
wind
direction
Figure 3. The scheme of wind loading.
The calculations were made for two silo
placement variants. In the first variant the maximum
wind pressure is applied to the node being displaced
to the maximum displacement inwards and in the
second variant outwards the silo shell.
4 THE GEOMETRIC IMPERFECTIONS
A significant stage in the design of slender shell
structures is establishing the assumptions concerning
the dimensions, the shape and the location of initial
imperfections. The proper definition of initial
defects allows taking into account a more precise
influence on stress distribution in the shell.
In this paper it was assumed that the initial
deflection is the deformation of the shell adapted
on the basis of the 1st, 5th and 9th eigenforms as well
as their combinations. The individual eigenforms
were obtained for eigenfrequencies of 4.50, 5.86,
7.76 Hz, respectively.
A few variants of initial deformation were
considered, in a sequence – displacement vectors
components representing the mapping of three
different modal forms as well as their combination.
They were treated as input coordinates for the grid
used in further calculations.
(1)
The analysis was carried out for three values of
the indentation amplitude: 5, 10 and 20 mm. The
maximum value of node displacement amplitude
t = 20 mm was selected based on allowable
deflections provided in the PN-EN-1993-1-6.
Examples of the deformed silo shell are depicted in
Figure 4.
As a comparison, another variant of construction
analysis was performed, where the initial
deformation was described by correlated and
uncorrelated random fields. The conditional
acceptance and rejection method for the generation
of random fields presented in Górski & Mikulski
(2006) was used.
 Table 2. Increase of the ultimate load value µulti in
the case of initial deformation corresponding to the
combination of the 1st, 5th and 9th eigenforms.
___________________________________________________
Eigenform Bulge amplitude
combination 5mm 10mm 20mm
___________________________________________________
1st+5th +3.7% +7.4% +13.3%
st
+5th+9th
1___________________________________________________
+2.6% +8.3% +15.1%

In all of the shown variants of the deformation

Figure 4. Examples of shape and location of the initial shell
deformation basing on the 1st, 5th, and 9th eigenforms.
5 ANALYSIS OF A GEOMETRICALLY
PERFECT SILO
Analysis of the system began with the definition
of the ultimate load value of the silo, which was not
initially deformed.
The structure was loaded with wind. The obtained
ultimate load value pideal = 2.18 kPa was a point of
reference for further calculations in which,
as additional factor impacting the stress distribution,
the inital deformation of the silo shell basing on its
eigenforms and their combinations was introduced.
6 ANALYSIS OF A SILO MODEL WITH
INITIALLY DEFINED IMPERFECTION
6.1 Wind pressure applied in the normal direction
of the shell determined in the node of maximum
displacement outwards the shell
shape, the ultimate load value µulti exceeded the
value obtained for the case of an ideal geometry
shell. These values indicate that this configuration of
the imperfections acts as a stiffening factor for such
structures. The value of the load coefficient
increases along with the rise of the ‘half wave’ in
consecutive eigenforms and along with the growth
of the bulge amplitude. The superposition of
consecutive eigenforms also leads to the structure
stiffening although it should be noted that such a
huge deformation of the silo shell disqualifies it in
terms of serviceability.
6.2 Wind pressure applied in the normal direction
of the shell determined in the node of maximum
displacement inwards the shell
The next stage of the analysis covered cases of
initial deformation as described in section 6.1, but
with a different silo location with respect to the
applied load – it was assumed that the maximum
wind pressure is applied in the normal direction of
the shell determined in the node of maximum
displacement inwards the construction.
The obtained ultimate load values are summarized
in Tables 3 and 4.

The analysis was carried out for three variants of the Table 3. Decrement of the ultimate load value µulti
initial imperfection: the 1st, 5th and 9th eigenforms in the case of initial deformation corresponding to
and three values of displacement amplitude: 5, 10 the 1st, 5th and 9th eigenforms.
___________________________________________________
and 20 mm. The variation of the ultimate load value Eigenforms Dent amplitude
in case of initial shell deformation being the 5mm 10mm 20mm
___________________________________________________
combination of the 1st and 5th as well as the 1st, 5th 1st form -1.8% 0.0% -2.2%
and 9th modal form was also examined. 5th form -4.1% -9.2% -13.8%
th
It was assumed that the maximum wind pressure 9___________________________________________________
form -7.3% -13.8% -41.3%
(pmax = 5 kPa) is applied in the normal direction of
the shell determined in the node of maximum Table 4. Decrement of the ultimate load value µulti
displacement outwards the construction. in the case of initial deformation corresponding to
The obtained ultimate load values are summarized the combination of the 1st, 5th and 9th eigenforms.
___________________________________________________
in Tables 1 and 2. Combination Dent amplitude
form 5mm 10mm 20mm
___________________________________________________
st th
Table 1. Increase of the ultimate load value µulti in 1 +5 -2.3% -5.0% -10.1%
st
the case of initial deformation corresponding to the +5th+9th
1___________________________________________________
-1.8% -6.4% -9.2%
st th
, 5 and 9th eigenforms.
1___________________________________________________
Eigenform Bulge amplitude Whatever the shape and the dent amplitude is,
5mm 10mm 20mm
___________________________________________________ the value of the coefficient decreased with respect to
st
1 form +2.7% + 5.5% +11.0% the case of an ideal shell surface. The least favorable
5th form +5.5% +13.3% +22.0% value was obtained for the imperfection case
corresponding to the 9th eigenform and the
th
9___________________________________________________
form +7.3% +15.6% +29.4%
amplitude deviation of 20 mm.
6.3 Deformation of the shell described with
correlated and uncorrelated random fields
Calculations were performed for two cases of the
shell deformation. In the first variant deviations for
each point were calculated independently, from
using a normal distribution. The deviation value
relative to the cylindrical plane of the shell was
assumed 2cm. Geometry of the dome, the funnel and
the fragment of a cylindrical shell edge below the
fulcrum was assumed to be ideal, without any initial
deformations.
Defining the initial deformation in such a way
a 27.6% growth in the ultimate load value was
observed. Similarly to the case where the
deformation shape was based on combinations of
eigenforms it can be stated that the chaotic dents on
the shell cause its stiffening. At the same time such
intensive deformation of the shell disables
the construction from real usage, as mentioned
previously in chapter 6.1.
The next stage of the analysis included
calculations for the case of shell deformation
described by a heterogeneous correlation function:
K (∆x1 , ∆x 2 ) = σ cos(α∆x1 ) exp(− β f ∆x1 − γ∆x 2 )
The following values were assumed in
calculations: σ = 0.01443 m, α = 0, 2 m −1 and
β f = γ = 0.005 m . The method allowing to
-1
generate two and three dimensional Gaussian
random fields, including cropped fields, was taken
from Walukiewicz et al (1997).
The average absolute value of deviation related
to the plane of the shell was assumed 10 mm.
The ultimate load value for a so-defined initial
deformation dropped by 10.2% with respect to the
ideal construction. This result is similar to the case
with imperfections based on combination of the 1st
and 5th eigenforms.
7 CONCLUSIONS
Analyzing the data obtained for different
deformation cases there can be shown not only the
importance of the deformation shape but also of its
location with respect to applied load and the
magnitude of the amplitude deviation.
While increasing magnitude of the amplitude
of the imperfection, monotonic change in the critical
wind value is observed for imperfections in the form
of eigenforms, and non-monotonic for imperfections
described by combinations of these eigenforms.
The calculations also show that the ultimate load
value is more sensitive to the imperfection amplitude
than to the imperfection shape. An important issue is
to adapt a justified selection of the amplitude of
imperfections in the design of shell structures.
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It can be also observed that for all the cases
where the maximum wind pressure is applied in the
normal direction of the shell determined in the node
of maximum displacement outwards the construction
the ultimate load value is higher than in the case of
an ideal structure. The opposite situation happens
when the wind pressure is applied in the normal
direction of the shell determined in the node of
maximum displacement inwards the shell. Ultimate
load values confirming this conclusion were
collected in Table 5.
Table 5. The positive and negative change in the
ultimate load value µulti for different initial
deformation shapes.
___________________________________________________
Deformation Positive change Negative change
shape of value of value
___________________________________________________
9th eigenform +29.4% -41.3%
Eigenforms combination +15.1% -10.1%
Random field +27.6% -10.2%
___________________________________________________
From the engineering point of view, the most
interesting case is the reduction of the critical wind
load value, as it leads to stability loss. The presented
(2) analysis shows a greater reduction in load capacity
when adapting eigenforms as imperfections.
However, real imperfections have greater dispersion.
This is simulated by adapting the random fields
for which the reduction of the critical load is
apparently smaller, hence design becomes less
restrictive.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This contribution is supported by the National
Science Centre under grant No. UMO–
2011/03/B/ST8/06500.
REFERENCES
Golota M., Gorski J., Mikulski T. & Winkelmann K. 2010.
Influence of geometric imperfections on capacities of silo
structures loaded with pressure below atmospheric. Shell
Structures: Theory and Applications 2: 287–290.
Golota M., Winkelmann K., Gorski J. & Mikulski T. 2011.
Influence of geometric imperfections on capacities of silo
structures loaded with pressure and wind. Inżynieria
i Budownictwo 2/2011: 113–117.
Gorski J. & Mikulski T. 2006. Numerical calculation of steel
cylindrical tanks with geometrical imperfections. Inżynieria
i Budownictwo 9/2006: 473–476.
PN-77/B-02011. Loads in static calculations. Wind loads.
PN-EN-1993-1-6. Design of steel structures. Strength and
stability of shell structures.
Walukiewicz, H., Bielewicz, E. & Górski, J. 1997. Simulation
of nonhomogeneous random fields for structural
applications. Computers and Structures, 64, 1-4: 491–498.