Reinforcing Your Concrete Silo/Storage with Steel

Concrete silos provide adequate storage for fodder and forage. You may have invested in concrete silos for holding grain, coal, sawdust and other materials because of the cheaper price or lack of information about steel silos. You may be experiencing issues with the strength and integrity of your concrete silos that are putting your business at risk. Instead of paying to completely replace the silos, consider reinforcing them with steel. Steel silo reinforcements can save you money and give you peace of mind.

Issues with Concrete Silos

A common problem people encounter with concrete silos is lack of tension. Concrete is not a flexible material, and cannot hold up against certain stresses. Instead of bending and accommodating the pressure, concrete silos crack. Over time, small cracks can turn into major problems. Cracked silos can especially be problematic in the gas and oil industry. Offshore drilling requires strong, sturdy, and reliable silos for storage. Otherwise, the operation is at risk of a terrible and even fatal failure.

Companies can use steel to reinforce them and make up for the lack of tension. Steel is a naturally strong material. With proper welding and fabrication techniques, steel is even capable of resisting flexile stresses in silos. Reinforcing concrete with steel allows companies to store bulk concrete, grain, coal, woodchips, carbon black, food products, and more without fear of a structural failure. If you are in an area that experiences earthquakes, flexible steel-reinforced concrete silos can be a major safety improvement.

There are several types of concrete or cement silos. Low-level mobile silos are easy to transport and set up on site. Upright cement silos can hold powder materials such as cement and pulverized fuel ash. The type and material of your silos will depend on what you are storing and what your goals are for storage. Concrete silos can be taller than steel silos but with less diameter, and are more suitable when you have limited space. If you decided on a concrete silo but are now experiencing structural problems, don’t worry. Steel reinforcement may be able to save your operation.

Advantages of Reinforcing Concrete Silos with Steel

Completely replacing concrete silos can be a major cost investment – not to mention the hassle of tearing down existing silos and building new ones. Instead of giving up on your concrete silos, look into steel reinforcements. Steel can provide your concrete silos with the flexibility they need to adapt to stresses from within the silo and from exterior elements. Steel can repair failing concrete silos or modify the silo for safer and more efficient storage. Steel is ideal for upgrading your old concrete silos, repairing silo roofs, re-hooping concrete stave silos, or strengthening the silo as a whole.

If you store hot materials, you need thermal reinforcement steel to reduce thermal stress on your concrete silos. Hot materials can cause great damage to concrete silos over time. Steel holds up to heat without cracking or breaking, with low conductivity. The high impact resistance, flexibility, and durability of steel can make your concrete silo last for decades to come. Don’t trust just any company with your silo reinforcements – only an experienced welding company can safely and effectively strengthen a concrete silo with steel. Trust Swanton Welding Company, Inc. with your steel reinforcement. Contact us today for a consultation.