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For other uses, see Silo (disambiguation).
Concrete stave silo used for corn silage
Concrete stave silo used for corn silage

A silo is a structure for storing bulk materials. Bulk material handling is an Engineering field that is centred around the design of equipment used for the transportation of materials such as Ores and Cereals Silos are used in agriculture to store grain (see grain elevators) or fermented feed known as silage. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture History Grain elevators are a common sight in the grain-growing areas of the world such as the North American Prairies Larger terminal elevators are For the Christian Alternative band please see Silage (band Silage is fermented, high-moisture Fodder that can Silos are more commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, wood chips and sawdust. In the most general sense of the word a cement is a binder a substance which sets and hardens independently and can bind other materials together Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete Combustion of heavy Petroleum products such as FCC tar coal tar ethylene cracking tar and a small amount from Sawdust is composed of fine particles of Wood. This material is produced from cutting with a Saw, hence its name

Three types of silos are in widespread use today:

  1. Tower silos
  2. Bunker silos
  3. Bag silos

Contents

Tower silos

Some of the grain silos at Port Giles, South Australia.
Some of the grain silos at Port Giles, South Australia. Port Giles is the newest port on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, between Stansbury and Edithburgh.
This silo contains 27 variations of stone, sand and gravel, Copenhagen, Denmark
This silo contains 27 variations of stone, sand and gravel, Copenhagen, Denmark

Storage silos are cylindrical structures, typically 10 to 90 ft (4 to 30 m) in diameter and 30 to 275 ft (10 to 84 m) in height with the slipform and Jumpform concrete silos being the larger diameter and taller silos. Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe They can be made of many materials. Wood staves, concrete staves, cast concrete, and steel panels have all been used, and have varying cost, durability, and airtightness tradeoffs. Silos storing grain, cement and woodchips are typically unloaded with air slides or augers. Silos can be unloaded into rail cars, trucks or conveyors.

Tower silos containing silage are usually unloaded from the top of the pile, originally by hand using a pitchfork, in modern times using mechanical unloaders. A pitchfork is an agricultural Tool with a long handle and long thin widely separated Bottom silo unloaders are utilized at times but have problems with difficulty of repair.

An advantage of tower silos is that the silage tends to pack well due to its own weight, except in the top few feet. The tower silo was invented by Franklin Hiram King. Franklin Hiram King ( 8 June, 1848 &ndash 4 August, 1911) was an American agricultural scientist who was born on a farm

In Australia, many country towns in grain-growing areas have concrete tower silos to collect grain from the surrounding towns and store it ready for transport by train or road to an export port. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

Bunker silos

This bunker silo contains sugar inside. Chillan,Chile
This bunker silo contains sugar inside. Chillan,Chile

Bunker silos are trenches, usually with concrete walls, that are filled and packed with tractors and loaders. Chillán is a city in the Bío-Bío Region of Chile located about 400 km south of the capital Santiago, near the geographical center of the country Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the The filled trench is covered with a plastic tarp to make it airtight. These silos are usually unloaded with a tractor and loader. They are inexpensive and especially well suited to very large operations.

Bag silos

Bag silos are heavyweight plastic bags, usually around 8 to 12 ft in diameter, and of variable length as required for the amount of material to be stored. They are packed using a machine made for the purpose, and sealed on both ends. They are unloaded using a tractor and loader or skid-steer loader. A skid loader or skid steer loader is a rigid frame engine-powered machine with lift arms used to attach a wide variety of labor-saving tools or attachments The bag is discarded in sections as it is torn off. Bag silos require little capital investment. They can be used as a temporary measure when growth or harvest conditions require more space, though some farms use them every year.

Safety and silo cleaning

Defunct silo in Merrinee, Victoria, Australia.
Defunct silo in Merrinee, Victoria, Australia. Merrinee is a locality situated in the Sunraysia region The place by road is situated about 7 kilometres west from Pirlta and 11 kilometres east from

Silos are hazardous, and people die every year in the process of filling and maintaining them. The machinery used is dangerous and with tower silos workers can fall from the silo's ladder or work platform.

There have also been many cases of silos exploding. If the air inside becomes laden with finely granulated particles, such as grain dust, a spark can trigger an explosion powerful enough to blow a concrete silo apart.

There are two main problems which will necessitate cleaning. Bridging occurs when the material consolidates at the base of the silo. Rat holing occurs when the material starts to adhere to the side of the silo. This will reduce the operating capacity of a silo as well as leading to cross-contamination of newer material with older material. There are a number of ways to clean a silo and many of these carry their own risks. Silo cleaning is a process to maximize the efficiency of Storage silos that hold bulk powders or granules However since the early 1990s acoustic cleaners have become available. Acoustic cleaning is used wherever there is a build up of dry materials and particulates which need to be cleaned regularly to ensure maximum efficiency and minimize maintenance and down These are non-invasive, have minimum risk, and can offer a very cost-effective way to keep a silo clean. It can also be called silage wrap.

Notable silos

References

See also

External links

Dictionary

silo

-noun

  1. (agriculture) A vertical building, usually circular, used for the storage of grain.
  2. (military) An underground bunker used to hold missiles which may be launched.
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