Cement silo basic concept

What is a cement silo? Cement silos are generally used in the storage of bulk cement in concrete batching plants. Bulk cement silos are closed tanks for storing bulk materials. They are suitable for storing various dry small granular materials or powders such as grain, cement, fly ash and other bulk materials. They can be used with screw conveyors to transport materials to various locations.

Cement silos are usually large cylindrical or spherical structures made of steel or concrete. They have good sealing and moisture-proof properties and can effectively prevent cement from getting damp, agglomerating and contaminating.

Cement silo structure composition

Cement silo is mainly composed of the following parts:
Cement silo is generally composed of dust-catcher, guardrail, ladder, body of bin, level indicator, feeding tube, broken arch, manual butterfly valve, maintenance platform, holder, cone, legs and other parts. The silo body is the main part for storing cement, usually in a cylindrical shape.

The top of the silo contains equipment such as the feed port, dust collector, and safety valve. The feed port is used for cement input, the dust collector is to prevent cement dust from overflowing from the silo during the feeding process and causing environmental pollution, and the safety valve is a device to ensure the safety of the silo when the pressure in the silo is abnormal.

The cone is located at the bottom of the silo, and its shape helps the smooth discharge of cement. The legs are used to support the entire cement silo, so that the silo body is a certain distance from the ground, which is convenient for the installation and maintenance of the discharge equipment.

The basic structure of the powder tank is shown in the figure. It consists of: 1-dust collector on the top of the silo 2-pressure safety valve 3-rotary level indicator 4-silo body 5-platform fence 6-blowing pipe 7-flow-aiding air cushion 8-manual butterfly valve 9-support legs, etc.

10 parts of cement silo in concrete batching plant

1. Cement silo dust-catcher

What does a cement silo dust-catcher do? When a bulk cement pump truck delivers powder to a silo, a pressure difference is formed inside and outside the cement silo, and the gas is discharged from the silo to the outside. Since the cement silo is filled with powder, it is easy to generate dust and pollute the air. The function of the dust collector is to filter the gas discharged from the silo and balance the air pressure inside and outside the silo. As a filtering system, dust is easily accumulated inside, so it needs to be checked regularly.

2. Cement silo guardrail

What does a cement silo guardrail do? The guardrail is mainly used for protection. When the cement silo needs to be repaired, workers need to climb up the ladder from the outside to the top and enter the cement silo through the inspection port at the top. The inspection and cleaning of the dust collector also need to be carried out at the top. The guardrail is generally made of round pipes welded together.

3. Cement silo ladder

External ladder (with guardrail)	Internal ladder (without guardrail)

4. Cement silos level indicator

The level indicator is used to measure the height of the powder in the cement silo. There are many types of level indicators. The one used by SMAT Concrete should be a vane-type rotary resistance level indicator. (Left picture) The basic principle is to control the signal light to achieve the warning effect according to whether there is material within the contact range of the level meter blade (whether there is an obstacle to the rotation of the blade). One or two can be installed in a cement silo.Top: Measure whether the silo is full.Bottom: Measure whether there is material in the silo to prevent empty silo.

5. Silo cement feeding tube

The lower end of the feeding tube is connected to the bulk cement pump truck, and the upper end goes straight to the top of the cement silo. The diameter of the feeding tube is 144mm, and this value is constant regardless of the size of the cement silo. The feeding tube of the SMAT cement silo is shown in the figure below on the left, and the part that overlaps with the silo is hidden inside the silo.

6. Silos cement powder tanker

The unloading pipeline of cement silo powder tanker mainly consists of suction port, butterfly valve (sealed by rubber sealing ring, which can be replaced if damaged), unloading steel pipe, unloading pipe joint, unloading hose (wear-resistant steel wire unloading hose, diameter is 100mm), etc. A shock-resistant pressure gauge is installed on the tank body to monitor the changes in air pressure in the tank to guide unloading.

7. Silo for cement broken arch

When discharging cement silos, it is easy to form blockages due to the large silo body and small outlet, and the material cannot be discharged smoothly. This is the role of broken arch. When discharging cement silos, compressed air is connected to the broken arch, and the silo is air-blasted to loosen the material and discharge it smoothly. Generally, 50T cement silos are equipped with 3 broken arches, and 6 broken arches are the most suitable for 50T and above.

8. Cement silo manual butterfly valve

The manual butterfly valve is the connecting part between the cement silo and the screw conveyor. In normal operation, the manual butterfly valve is open, and the powder enters the screw conveyor pipe from the cement silo; when the screw conveyor needs to be repaired, the manual butterfly valve needs to be closed.

9. Cement silo holder

The holder is located at the bottom of the cement silo and is connected to the ground, playing a supporting role. The height of the holder is variable and can be changed according to different requirements. The bottom of the holder is connected to the foundation.

10. Cement silo foundation

The cement silo foundation of a mixing station is a solid foundation designed to bear the weight of the cement silo and its internal materials. It is usually poured with concrete and has sufficient strength and stability to ensure that the cement silo will not settle or tilt during long-term use.

How does a cement silo work?

Do you know how cement silo works? The four processes give you a clear understanding of how the cement silo of a concrete mixing plant works?

1. Feeding:

Cement is transported from the cement production plant or transport vehicle to the feed port of the cement silo through conveying equipment (such as belt conveyors, pneumatic conveying pipelines, etc.). The feed port is usually located on the top of the silo and is equipped with a dust-proof device to prevent dust leakage.

2. Storage:

The main part of the cement silo is a large cylindrical or spherical structure, usually made of steel or concrete, with good sealing and moisture-proof properties, and cement can be stored in a relatively stable environment.

3. Discharging:

When discharging is required, the cement is discharged from the bottom of the cone through the discharging equipment at the bottom (such as a screw conveyor, etc.). The discharging port is usually located at the bottom of the silo and is designed as a cone or slope to facilitate the smooth discharge of cement.

The legs are used to support the entire cement silo, so that the silo body is a certain distance from the ground, which is convenient for the installation and maintenance of the discharging equipment.

4. Metering:

Cement silos are usually equipped with metering equipment such as level meters and flow meters to monitor the storage and usage of cement in real time. Through PLC control systems or computer interface operations, automatic control is achieved to ensure that the cement feeding and discharging process is accurate and efficient.

What is the purpose of silo cement plant?

Cement silo has three main functions:

Storage: The main function of cement silo is to store bulk cement and ensure that the quality of cement is not affected during transportation and use.

Transit: During the production and use of cement, cement silo can be used as a transit station to transport cement from the production site to the use site.

Metering: Cement silo is usually equipped with metering equipment to accurately measure the storage and use of cement.

What type of concrete batching station is cement silo used for?

Cement silos are widely used in many types of concrete mixing stations, such as fixed concrete mixing stations, mobile concrete mixing stations, foundation-free concrete mixing stations, commercial concrete mixing stations, etc. Cement silos, as containers of these mixing stations, are an important part of the mixing station. Cement silos are used in these mixing stations to store bulk cement to ensure a stable supply of raw materials, thereby ensuring the quality and production efficiency of concrete.

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