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Collapses are often the result of preventable structural failures that would have been identified during routine inspection. Common problems that cause concrete structure and concrete silo failure include foundation deterioration, roof collapse due to roof beam structural issues, improper material filling and unloading procedures in silos, silo wall delamination or deterioration, silo discharge cone or bin floor issues. Steel silos suffer from corrosion and buckling, which can be inspected using wear-measure thickness ultrasonic gauges.
Structural Concrete Silo Repair Services
Silo Upgrades
Silo Post-Tensioning
Vertical silo spalling, cracking or wall separation due to overstress of the horizontal reinforcing are the main symptoms repaired with post-tensioning — a very common problem. To solve this issue, Marietta Silos will install high-strength post-tensioning strands around the wall exterior. These strands can replace all of the original steel reinforcing and, assuming the concrete is still sound, the silo can be returned to its original load capacity in an economical manner.
Silo Roof Repair
As with any structure, the roof of the silo generally receives the brunt of the physical and environmental abuse. Proper roof maintenance is needed to keep the materials within the silo safe and dry. Roofs are subject to abuse from overfilling, explosions and overloading, as well as environmental abuse.
Marietta Silos uses a variety of techniques to replace, repair or modify silo roofs including a roof-top coating. USA Silo Service has developed a unique silo roof and silo wall sealing method, a rubber product that applies to a concrete or steel silo roof to cover cracks, holes and equipment attachment areas.
This sealing method can be used for roof surfaces or for steel bolted silo joints to offer excellent protection against oxidation, humidity and corrosive environments. The rubberized coating also resists alkali, salts, abrasions and fumes.
Additional benefits of roof-top silo coatings:
- Not a floating membrane
- Offers excellent adhesion to aluminum, galvanized steel, painted surfaces, modified bitumen, steel joints and many other surfaces
- Excellent in sealing cracks, laps, fasteners and roof surface penetrations
- Available in all 50 states and in a variety of colors
The rubber coating reduces costly reapplications of surface protectants and can be applied to many surfaces including: metal buildings and roofs, built up roof (BUR) membranes, grain silos and bins, silo exterior walls, single ply roofs, urethane foam roofs and steel bolted joints.
Silo Rehooping
Marietta Silos has vast experience in rehooping concrete stave silos, whether they store foundry sand, lime, clay, cement, grain products or have been adapted for industry use. Older stave silos often have hoops that are corroded, damaged or missing altogether. In order to maintain the structural integrity of the silo, removing unsound hoops and/or replacing hoops with a full complement of new steel hoops may be necessary.
Rehooping can ensure your older stave silos regain or maintain their full storage capacity. A special waterproof coating may be applied after rehooping to ensure the long-term durability of the hoops.
Shotcrete-Gunite
Gunite is a mixture of sand, cement and water, which is applied with air pressure. Not only is it as strong as poured concrete, it is also very resistant to weather and chemicals and bonds 100% to well-cleaned concrete.
Silo Strengthening
Composite Fiber Reinforcement
Marietta Silos is a certified installation contractor for the Wabo® Composite System. This system uses composite fiber reinforcements to strengthen existing concrete and masonry structures for a variety of applications.
Available materials used include standard and vapor permeable resins, as well as specialized fibers with low conductivity, chemical, and impact resistance that may be mounted on or near the surface of the structure with no heavy equipment needed.
Steel Silo Repair
Steel silo repairs typically involve cutting out and replacing worn or corroded portions of a silo as well as relining damaged silo sections. Marietta Silos handles the full design and engineering of steel silo repairs, with safety as our first priority. Our experienced engineers understand the unique loading and load path requirements based on the silo type and stored material.
Silo inspections and preventive maintenance can prevent a silo collapse. Routine inspections and repair of silo walls and/or liners are important for preserving the structural integrity and ensuring that the silo is in proper working condition.
Visit AskMrSilo.com to ask Mr. Silo any of your silo-related questions and be sure to check out our full library of silo maintenance and inspection videos on 
.
Reference:
- April 18, 2008: An 80 feet (24 m) tall silo adjacent to the line, just north of the New Bern Station, collapsed, with some of its debris causing minor damage to the track and disrupting service during the evening rush hour. Service was fully restored by the following day, but this marked the first disruption in service since the opening of the line in November 2007 due to conditions outside the control of CATS. [Wootson, Jr., Cleve R.; Steve Harrison (April 19, 2008). "Silo puts kink in LYNX". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1A.]
