Review

Report
ClientCementCompany
Unburnedclinkersteelsilo

11/18/2011

11/18/2011

Date

Eng.AmedSaeedCivil
Eng.KhaledEid,Msc,PECivil
Writtenby

Reviewedby

Approvedby

0
Version

ThisreportiscopyrighttoRHIwrittenanduploadwithsomemodificationtohidetheclientnamefor
educationalproposeforanycommentspleaseemailkhaled_eid@yahoo.com

Contents
1

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................3

Unburnedclinkersilo............................................................................................................................3

2.1

Receiveddocumentsanddrawings..............................................................................................4

2.2

Reviewmethodology....................................................................................................................5

Analysisinputdata................................................................................................................................5
3.1

FiniteElementProgram................................................................................................................5

3.2

Temperatureeffect.......................................................................................................................6

3.3

Windload......................................................................................................................................6

Design....................................................................................................................................................6
4.1.1

Silowall.................................................................................................................................6

4.1.2

Silobottomhopper...............................................................................................................7

4.1.3

Siloroof.................................................................................................................................7

4.1.4

Silosupportingconcretestructure.......................................................................................7

Fabricationanderection.......................................................................................................................8

Summaryandconclusion......................................................................................................................9

Recommendation..................................................................................................................................9

References..................................................................................................................................................10
Appendix1.................................................................................................................................................11
Appendix2.................................................................................................................................................12
Appendix3.................................................................................................................................................13

1 Introduction
ClientCement(CLIENT)plantislocatedinClient,Elkarak
Jordon90KmsouthAmman.Thedryprocessplanthasa
productionof5000tonperdaystartedcommissioningin
September2010.

MechanicallydesignedbyXXX,Germanyreferred
inthisreportasthemechanicaldesigner.
ManagedbytheconsultantHOLTEC,India
referredinthisreportastheconsultant.
CivildesignengineerTEM,Turkeyreferredinthis
reportasthedesignerorcivildesigner.
ThecontractoristheMIDCONTRACTING,
AMMANreferredinthisreportasthe
contractor.

At the request of Client cement from RHI to review the

structural design and construction integrity for the
unburnedclinkersilo
RHIvisitedthesiteon29thofNovember2011andtalked
to concerned parties then inspected the silo, it was
noticedthesiloisemptyandmaterialisaccumulatedon
the concrete platform below as a sign of emergency
discharge.Stairaccesswascoveredwithmaterialinsuch
it is during initial filling operation the silo bottom deformed as shown and there are is sign of
deformationatthesupportingringbeamalsothereisacrushinginthebearingareaatthesilosupport
Refertoappendix1forphotos.

2 Unburned clinker silo

Theunderburnetsiloisdesignedtostoretherejectedclinkersoitmayberecycledbysomeratiointhe
processagain.Usuallystoredinsiloseithersteelorconcrete.Inourcaseitisasteelsilowithadesigned
capacityof1500tonbasedonclinkerdensityof1.3ton/m3,thesilodiameteris10meterandheightof
16.0meterwithaflatbottomhopperbottomdiameterof7.5meterandheightof3.75meter.Thesilo
issupportedatlevel15.2onfourconcretebeamssupportedinfourconcretecolumns.

2.1 Received documents and drawings

ThesedrawingweresubmittedbyClientCementCompanyasthelatestgeneralarrangementdrawings.
FabricationdetailsofunderburnerXXX

84189756BAsheet1

FabricationdetailsofunderburnerXXX84189756BAsheet2
Clinkertransportandstoragegernalarrangement

84127249UA

KCP15C001_05.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

FOUNDATIONPLAN

KCP15C002_01.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+2.500LEVELFORMWORKPLAN

KCP15C003_01.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+5.900LEVELFORMWORKPLAN

KCP15C004_02.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+8.400LEVELFORMWORKPLAN

KCP15C005_00.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+15.200LEVELFORMWORKPLAN

KCP15C006_01.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

COLUMNAPPLICATIONPLANC1C2C3

KCP15C007_00.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+2.500LEVELSLABREINFORCEMENT
PLAN

KCP15C008_01.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+5.900LEVELSLABREINFORCEMENT
PLAN

KCP15C009_02.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+8.400LEVELSLABREINFORCEMENT
PLAN

KCP15C010_00.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

+15.200LEVELSLABREINFORCEMENT
PLAN

KCP15C011_00.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

REBARDETAILSOFFOUNDATIONS

KCP15C011_01.dwg (15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

REBARDETAILSOFFOUNDATIONS

KCP15C012_00.dwg(15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

BEAMDETAILSB001B002B003B004
B005B006B101B102B103B104
B105B106B107B108B109B110B204

KCP15C013_03.dwg(15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

BEAMDETAILSB111B201B202B203
B205B206B207B208B209B210
B211B212B213B214B215B216B301

KCP15C014_02.dwg(15UNBURNTCLINKERHOPPER)

STAIRPLANANDDETAILS

2.2 Review methodology

DespiteofRHIrequestedseveraltimesfromCLIENTtoprovide
theoriginaldesigncalculationbutwedidnotgetanythingtill
nowwhichraiseaquestionifthisstructurewasalready
designedbyXXXornot?Andhowitwasapprovedifthereisno
supportingdesigndocument?

Thusreviewmethodologywasappliedbymakingan
independentsetofcheckanalysisandcalculations,accordingto
materialandplatethicknessprovidedinthedrawings.

Thefollowingarethecodesandstandardsusedinreview

BSEN19914:2006ActionsonstructuresSilosand
tanks.
LoadscombinationstotheASCE705minimumdesign
loadsofstructure
Wind,snowandthermalloadsareaccordingtothe
Jordanianloadingcode.
DesignofsteelmembersaspertheAmericancode
AISCASD.
MechanicalloadsappliedexactlyasprovidedbyXXX
onlywindloadsarecalculated.

3 Analysis input data

3.1 Finite Element Program
Thereisnoprogramyettopredictthematerialflowsointhisstudythesilobucklingbehaviorwas
investigatedwithlinearbucklinganalysisofSAP2000(Nonlinearv.14).SAP2000isageneralpurpose
structuralfiniteelementanalysisprogram.Allcircumferentialandlongitudinalstiffenersweremodeled
asframeelements.

3.2 Temperature effect

Theouterwallsofthesilocanexpandduringdayandcontractatnightasthetemperaturedrops,if
thereisnodischargetakingplaceandmaterialinsidethesiloisfreeflowing,itwillsettleasthesilo
expandsbecauseitcannotpushedbackupwhenthesilowallcontract.
Atemperaturedifferenceof100degreeisconsideredduetotheaverageeffectofhotclinkerwhen
enteringthesilo.

3.3 Wind load

Circularbins,ontheotherhand,areverysensitivetowindloadingbecauseofthevarying
pressure/suctiondistributionofthewindloadingaroundthecircumference,andthelackofstiffnessof
theshellinresistingthisloading.Therequiredthicknessofplateintheupperstrakesofacircularbinis
oftendeterminedbythewindloading.
Windbucklingischaracterizedbythe
formationofoneormorebuckleson
thewindwardfaceoftheshell.Wind
alsoproducesanoverturning
momentonatallbin,whichinducesa
verticalcompressivestressinthe
leewardface;thisreacheda
maximumatthebaseofthebin,
wheretheshellneedstobechecked
againstbuckling

4 Design
Asstatedbeforenoinformation
abouthowthissiloisdesignedto
whichcode,didanychangedineither
heightorbottomduringerection?no
historicalinformationavailable.
Sothisreportwillnotbeabletojudgethedesigncalculationbutwillonlyrefertotheasbuiltonsite
andXXXdrawing84189756BArev2.

4.1.1 Silo wall

Silomaterialdoesnotactlikeafluid;drymaterialshavefrictionalorcohesiveresistanceandtendto
formdomeswiththesilowallthatpreventsitfromfallingfreelydownward.
Thelateralpressureonthesiloshellfromthedrymaterialsisofdifferentcharacterthanthelateral
pressureontheretainingwallfromsoilatthebackofthewall.

Thedesignerappliesaconstant10mmthicknessfor
thewallandthebottomhopper;practicallyitistoo
smallwhenconsideringallowanceforrustand
aberrationforsuchlargesizesilos.Thecritical
bucklingstressinthewallisgoverningthethickness
requiredtocarrytheverticalcompressionload.
Itwasfoundbyanalysisthatthesilowallisonlysafe
atthetopthirdofthesilobutinallotherlocationis
unsafestressandbuckling.

4.1.2 Silo bottom hopper

Thebottomhopperisdesignedas10mmwithadiameterof7.5meterstiffenedbyangle75x10,itis
foundtobeawayunsafeaswell.Refertoappendix3fordetails.

4.1.3 Silo roof

Thetoproofwithplate10mmisfoundtobesufficienttosupporttheappliedliveloadsbutthe
supportingsteelbeamsareunsafe(thebeamspansforsevenmetersandsupportingawidthofoneand
halfmeterandassignedasUPN200).

4.1.4 Silo supporting concrete

structure
Thesiloissupportedinfourbearingpointsona
200cmx90cmconcretebeamsbyvisualinspection
thesebeamssufferingfromdiagonalcracksand
concretecrushingatoneofthebearingpoints,
furthermoreconcretebeamsatlevel8.4suffering
verticalcracksinbothsides.
Itisalsovisuallynoticedinsomelocationsome
concretehoneycombscreatingavoidsinthe
concretebeamsandleftwithoutcuringthatisalso
raiseaquestionabouttheconcretequality.
RHIrequestedtheconcretestructuredrawingsandrunandindependedcheckingforthewhole
structure.
ITwasfoundthatthesupportingbeamstobeunsafeinshearwithevidenceoftheshearcrack,while
forlevel8.4allbeamsaresafeaccordingtothedesignsothecracksmaybeasareasonofthefalling
materialontheapronfeederwhenthesilobottomdeforms.
Refertoappendix2forsupportingstructurechecking.

5 Fabrication and erection

Althoughappropriatesizesasperthedesigndrawingareusedbutmanyfabricationanderectionerrors
arespottedduringinspectiongivingabadimpressionaboutthequalitycontrol.
1. Thebottomstiffenersaretackweldedandnotinfullcontactwiththesilobody.
2. Thestiffenersarenotcontinueswithagapatmidspanwhereabeigestload.
3. Thebottomstiffenersarenotconnectedtotheverticalonesthustheyarenottransferringthe
loadtothesupports.

6 Summary and
conclusion
Ourstudyconcludesthatthe
steelsiloisunderdesigned
sufferingmanydesignissues
Theseissuesaresummarized
asfollows

Thesupporting
concretebeamisjust
safeinbendingbut
unsafeinshearby18%thisexplainsthe45degreescracks.
Duetothebottomexcessivedeformationitdamagedtheapronfeederwithamaterialfalls
addingunexpectedloadedontheconcretebeamsatlevel8.4creatingcracksinthesebeams.
Thepartymostresponsibleforthebottomcollapsewasthedesignerbecauseallitemsare
unsafethewalls,theflatbottom,thestiffening,theringbeamandtheroof,notasingleitemin
thissiloisfoundtobesafe.
Theerectorandfabricatorworkwasawayfromstandardleadingtodecreasemorethecapacity
howeverthiswillnotaloneleadtothecollapse
Thereisnosignforanyexcessiveusage,lackofmaintenanceoroperationalmisuse.

7 Recommendation
Weproposethefollowingactionsaspartoftherectification

Wetriedmanyrepairalternativebutnoneofthemsolveallissuessowerecommend
replacingthesiloasthebestoption.
Itisadvisabletosupportthesilooneightpointstodistributetheconcentratedloadby
addingsteelbeamsat45degree.
Thesupportingbeamswillneedtobestrengthenedagainstshear.
Crackedbeamsinlevel8.4shouldbestrengthened.
Concretebuildingshouldbeinspectedforanyconstructiondeficienciesandrepairedbefore
fillingthesilo.
Concretecoretestmayberequiredtoevaluatetheconstructedconcretequalityandif
possibletochecktheexistingsteelbarsandstirrupsatrandomlocation.
No access to the silo support to allow for inspection at bearings it is recommended to add
ladder from level 8.4 to 15.2

10

References

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

AmericanWeldingSociety(AWS),550NW42dAvenue,Miami,FL22126.
RubinM.Zallen,P.E.,Collapseofsteelsilo
AmericanIronandSteelInstitute(AISI),110117thSt.,NW,Suite1300,Washington,
BahaaMachaly.,Structuralsystemsforwindandearthquakeloads.
TheJordanianloadingcodeArabicoriginalcopyAmman2006.
ACIstandards31391,Standardpracticefordesingandconstructionofconcretesilosand
stackingforstoringgranularmaterials

11

Appendix 1
SitePhotos

12

Appendix 2
Concrete building review
Not included in this educational copy

13

Appendix 3
Analysis and design checking for silo
Notincludedinthiseducationcopy