Wall loads in a model grain bin during fill and unload cycles

Grain storage structures in their normal use are filled and unloaded in man y different ways. This study was conducted to determine how several filling and unloading procedures affected wall loads. The vertical wall loads exer ted by soft red winter wheat on a smooth-wall, flat-floor bin 2.44 m in dia meter and 7.3 m high were determined as a function of fill height for diffe rent fill and unload cycles. The protocols used in the experiments of parti ally unloading and refilling the test bin clearly reflected the elasto-plas tic hysteresis of grain inside the bin.