Experiments on a square planform steel silo

Rectangular planform silos have not been studied as often as their circular counterparts, and relatively little detailed information exists in the lit erature on pressure patterns which develop on their walls. This study used a pilot-scale square planform funnel flow unstiffened steel silo with relat ively flexible walls to investigate the patterns of pressures on filling, d uring storage and during discharge. Two different free-flowing solids, sand and pea gravel, were used. The silo was instrumented with wall pressure ce lls, free field cells, strain gauges and displacement devices. From the ext ensive collected data, some examples of measured pressures during filling a nd discharge are presented, together with an introduction to the effects of eccentric discharge. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.