Exercise 7.
25
A farmer requires two steel silos to store wheat. Each silo is 8 m in external diameter and
10 m high. The foundation for each silo is a circular concrete slab thickened at the edge.
The total load of each silo filled with wheat is 9552 kN. The soil consists of a 30 m thick
deposit of medium clay above a deep deposit of very stiff clay. The farmer desires that
the silos be a distance of 2 m apart and hires you to recommend whether this distance is
satisfactory. The area is subjected to a gust wind speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
(a) Plot the distribution of vertical stress increase at the edges and at the center of one of
the silos up to a depth of 16 m. Assume the soft clay layer is semi-infinite and the
concrete slab is flexible. Use a spreadsheet to tabulate and plot your results.
(b) Calculate the elastic settlement at the surface of one of the silos at the edges and at the
center, assuming E = 30 MPa and = 0.7.
(c) Calculate the elastic tilt of the foundation of one of the silos and sketch the deformed
shape of the foundation slab.
(d) Would the tops of the silos touch each other based on the elastic tilt? Show
calculations in support of your answer.
(e) What minimum separation distance would you recommend? Make clear sketches to
explain your recommendation to the owner.
(f) Explain how the wind would alter the stress distribution below the silos.
(Hint: Use the charts in Appendix B.)
Solution 7.25
SILO 1 SILO 2
8m
Inner
Outer
10 m
-4 m A B C
-8 m D E F
-12 m G H I
-16 m J K L
Using the charts in Appendix B compute the following
Stress % Due to Silo 1 Stress % Due to Silo 2
1r 0r 1r 1.5r 2.5r 3.5r
depth in
outer Silo 1 center Silo 1 inner Silo 1 inner Silo1 center Silo1 outer Silo1
radii
0r (0 m) 50 100 50 0 0 0
1r (4 m) 33 (point A) 65 (point B) 33 (point C) 15 (point A) 1.8 (point B) 0.3 (point C)
2r (8 m) 20 (point D) 28 (point E) 20 (point F) 12 (point D) 4 (point E) 1.1 (point F)
3r (12 m) 11 (point G) 13 (point H) 11 (point I) 9 (point G) 4.3 (point H) 2 (point I)
4r (16 m) 7.3 (point J) 9 (point K) 7.3 (point L) 6.3 (point J) 4 (point K) 2.2 (point L)
STRESS % FROM BOTH SILOS STRESS FROM BOTH SILOS (kPa)
depth in
outer center inner outer center inner
radii
190.03 X 0.5 =
0r (0 m) 50 100 50 190.03 95.02
95.02
33 + 0.3 = 65 + 1.8 = 33 + 15 =
1r (4 m) 63.28 126.94 91.21
33.3 66.8 48
20 + 1.1 = 28 + 4 = 20 + 12 =
2r (8 m) 40.10 60.81 60.81
21.1 32 32
11 + 2 = 13 + 4.3 = 11 + 9 =
3r (12 m) 24.70 32.88 38.01
13 17.3 20
7.3 + 2.2 = 9+4= 7.3 + 6.3 =
4r (16 m) 18.05 24.70 25.84
9.5 13 13.6
(a)
Solution 7.25(continued..)
(b) Using the charts in Appendix B compute the following
DUE TO
Elastic Settlement Factor DUE TO SILO 1 SILO 2
1r 0r 1r 1.5r 2.5r 3.5r
depth in radii depth outer S1 center S1 inner S1 inner S1 center S1 outer S1
0r 0 0.9 1.5 0.9 0.52 0.3 0.21
1r 4 0.8 1.05 0.8 0.53 0.31 0.22
2r 8 0.54 0.65 0.54 0.47 0.305 0.23
3r 12 0.42 0.45 0.42 0.38 0.3 0.23
4r 16 0.31 0.33 0.31 0.305 0.28 0.21
factor FROM BOTH
SILOS
depth in radii depth outer center inner E 30000 Pa
0r 0 1.11 1.8 1.42
1r 4 1.02 1.36 1.33
2r 8 0.77 0.955 1.01
3r 12 0.65 0.75 0.8
4r 16 0.52 0.61 0.615
SETTLEMENT (mm)
FROM BOTH SILOS
depth in radii depth outer center inner
0r 0 56.24918 91.21488 71.95841
1r 4 51.68843 68.91791 67.39766
2r 8 39.0197 48.39456 51.18168
3r 12 32.93871 38.0062 40.53995
4r 16 26.35097 30.91171 31.16508
Tilt Angle 0.119 degrees 30
Horizontal
projection of one
silo 0.02 m
Solution 7.25(continued..)
Final Answers:
b) Outside = 56 mm
Center = 91 mm
Inside = 72 mm
c) Tilt Angle = 0.119 degrees
d) No, the silos will not touch.
e) 2 m separation is enough, since there will be only 0.02 m horizontal movement
at the tops of the silos
f) Wind will cause additional horizontal pressure. This may increase tilting.
