Performance evaluation of rigid inclusions for settlement control of grain silos in tropical soils

This study presents the evaluation of the performance of grain silos reinforced by rigid inclusions in soils of the Central-West region of Brazil, during its construction and operation. Therefore, a group of eight silos with 32.4 m in diameter, 30 m in height, and 12,000 t of storage capacity (each silo) was numerically analyzed using the three-dimensional Finite Element Method (FEM, Plaxis 3D). The stratigraphy of the Experimental Field of the University of Brasilia, Brazil (CEGUnB) was considered in the analysis. The performance of using a system of rigid inclusions to reinforce the soil beneath the raft was compared with the behavior of an isolated raft. Two models were developed: in the first one, an independent silo was considered, its behavior was analyzed during its construction and operation stages by varying the length of the inclusions; in the second model, the group of eight silos was considered and their behavior was studied for different combinations of loading. The rigid inclusions system proved to be an efficient foundation solution that allows controlling total and differential displacements during the construction and serviceability stages of the silo, helping to prevent the formation of cracks in the structural elements and grain contamination by the excessive opening of the raft-perimeter beam structural joint.