Stress state of reinforced concrete walls of grain silos subjected to static and thermal actions – in situ tests and numerical analysis
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1
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, Poland
2
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture Katowicka, Opole University of Technology, Poland
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2025-08-19
Final revision date: 2025-08-28
Acceptance date: 2025-08-28
Publication date: 2025-12-01
Corresponding author
Jolanta Anna Prusiel
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, ul. Wiejska 45E, 15-351, Białystok, Poland
Archives of Civil Engineering 2025;71(4):451-466
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ABSTRACT
In used reinforced concrete grain silos, failures occur (e.g., increased cracking of reinforced concrete walls). These failures may be caused by overloading of the chamber structure due to a sudden drop in ambient temperature throughout the day. These daily drops in ambient temperature cause thermal stresses in the silo shell. Additional thermal stresses in the silo are caused by the interaction of the wall and the bulk material stored within the silo. This results in additional tensile stresses in the cross-sections of the silo chamber wall, combined with bending. This paper presents the results of in situ studies of early winter temperature field distributions in a grain elevator at the Podlaskie Grain Plant in Białystok. A specialized prototype SensoNet telemetry system was used for the on-site tests, enabling continuous monitoring of operating silo batteries and recording physical quantities such as deformation and temperature. The measured variable temperature fields on the surface of the silo chambers were used to determine nonlinear temperature distributions across the thickness of the reinforced concrete walls in the grain silo battery using the finite difference method. Numerical calculations of four interlocking grain silos subjected to static (Janssen pressure of bulk material) and thermal loads were performed using the finite element method. Analysis of the numerical calculation results (FEM) demonstrates the unfavorable effects of thermal and static load coupling in the form of increases in latitudinal tensile stresses and bending moments in the reinforced concrete walls of the grain silo batteries.