ANALYSIS OF PRESSURES ON SMOOTH WALLS OF VERTICAL CYLINDRICAL SILOS

The study of the pressures that the stored product exerts on the silo walls is a relevant factor, because it can be a determining factor in the knowledge of the causes of failure, ruptures and tipping of vertical silos. Thus, the objective of this work is to determine, empirically and experimentally, the pressures along the circular section of the vertical metal silo exerted by the stored product and the influence of the H/D ratio in the representation of these pressures. For the determination of the horizontal and friction pressures, devices composed of pairs of load cells were used, fixed to square sections of the silo smooth wall with 2.5 m of body height and 0.64 m of internal diameter and hopper with 0.51 m of height and inclination of approximately 60° with the horizontal, made of smooth steel with 1 mm of thickness. The devices with the load cells were fixed to the wall section and to a vertical steel rod, thus allowing the calculation of lateral pressures along the structure.