25bp&r

Solving the PET problemAlthough the exact cause and modelling of the problem is incomplete, there is suffi cient practical knowledge of the issue for silo manufacturers to be able to offer solutions that avoid honking, quaking and overloading problems. These involve changing the way material fl ows inside the silo, particularly increasing the friction between the material and the silo wall, combined with increasing the silo strength to be able to resist any high transient stresses and the higher bulk density of PET. In practice, it is very diffi cult to predict when silo honking or quaking will occur, but, for example, Barton Fabrications’ anti-honking ring silo design has been widely and successfully adopted, addressing every silo honking / quaking issue that the company has encountered. Barton’s anti-honking ring design can be specifi ed and fi tted in both new silos or retrofi tted to existing vessels that need to be used for PET granule storage.

Rather than risk serious safety issues, or the high cost of a new silo installation, suitable silos can generally be upgraded to include anti-honking rings and stronger base sections offering a more cost effective solution for PET storage to the plant manager.

FURTHER INFORMATIONwww.bartonfabs.co.uk

References[1] PET Packaging market forecasted to grow to $57 billion by 2017, according to Smithers Pira https://www.smitherspira.com/market-reports/pet-packaging-market-forecasted-to-grow-to-57-billion-by-2017.aspx[2] Silo quaking and silo honking: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberghttp://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-540-73768-1_14#page-1[3] Silos: Fundamentals of Theory, Behaviour and Design - Chapter 3.6 Silo Quakinghttp://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lOOuqGbAagwC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&d-q=Silo+quaking,+also+known+as+silo+thumping&source=bl&ots=tRU6aKR-N3a&sig=frWVmk8yBRiKwKmsIaRtjmg-izs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Gh7SU8KyK-9KV0QWqr4CwCg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Silo%20quaking%2C%20also%20known%20as%20silo%20thumping&f=false[4] http://www.dotmar.com.au/co-effi cient-of-friction.html and http://www.dotmar.com.au/density.html[5] http://www.anval.net/Downloads/Bulk%20Density%20Chart.pdf[6 ]http://www.stobec.com/documents/data/7844.pdf

Mark Barton - MD Barton Fabrications

inspects silo access

door

Complete silo in vessel fabrication tower – vertical

construction minimises weld stresses

www.motan-colortronic.co.uk