NEW SILAGE PIT

[Forever Fendt]

We are just about to build a new outdoor silage pit 240ft long x 60ft wide x 10ft high in 20ft bays using concrete panels for the walls. I have had the steel post sizes and foundations designed by a structural engineer but they seem massive to what i was expecting. Anyone dne anything similar recently, what size posts and foundations and what would be your avice regarding the fall of the concrete floor. The intention is to fill with grass silage one end and maize silage the other so need a fall from the middle. How much fall per bay (20ft). Any comments would be appreciated. T.A.I

 

[Beanmetalworks]

Around hear rather than panels people are getting company's like Hopkins concrete to shutter up each side of the steels and pour concrete in between! Apparently it's a cheaper yet stronger way of build the pit walls! You also get a better thickness of wall to that way! I'm heavily involved with contracting firm and we fill couple pits up that have been done this way and farmers love it! So that might be worth thinking! Any help?!

 

[JNP]

We recently quoted a covered pit, 50ft wide had the columns spec'd at 356x171x46UB and the rafters 254x146x31UB. The spec was given to us by the customer who like you had had an engineers design done before hand.

Is your's a covered pit or just the columns to restrain the walls?

 

[Agri Design]

You should be looking at a fall of about 1 in 90 for silage clamp floors.. The foundations need to be a fair size due to the turning forces involved. Is the engineer experienced in silage clamp design? If so it will probably be reasonable, if he has no or little experience in this sort of design he could be way over board with the design.

David
Agri Design

 

[MrA.G.]

The bending moments involved with a UB steel section with bays of 20ft are substantial therefore I would be entitled to agree with your engineer.
Shuttered reinforced concrete walls may be a more efficient design.

 

[Forever Fendt]

The bending moments involved with a UB steel section with bays of 20ft are substantial therefore I would be entitled to agree with your engineer.
Shuttered reinforced concrete walls may be a more efficient design.

 

[Forever Fendt]

the stansions are 533x210x82 with a114 tube tie to the top of the posts and foundations are 2.6m x2.6m x 1.2m deep c30 concrete with a tie into floorslab @45deg 1.5m long 30mm rebar

 

[Blue.]

the stansions are 533x210x82 with a114 tube tie to the top of the posts and foundations are 2.6m x2.6m x 1.2m deep c30 concrete with a tie into floorslab @45deg 1.5m long 30mm rebar

Feck that will cost!

Have you considered no walls,its the route I've gone down.

 

[Forever Fendt]

Feck that will cost!

Have you considered no walls,its the route I've gone down.

 

[Forever Fendt]

pit is going next to new building 220ft long x 100 span going up soon was going to shutter the wall 12ft high and use one wall for sillage pit but have been advised this will interupt air flow into shed through the space boarding above the wall(loose housing for dairy cows) shed is 24ft to eaves and open ridge

 

[multi power]

im just wondering what effect having a roof would make, perhaps it would actualy reduce the stresses on the coloums

 

[Forever Fendt]

im just wondering what effect having a roof would make, perhaps it would actualy reduce the stresses on the coloums

 

[Forever Fendt]

stansions are drilled and have a cap plate to take roof over
at later date could have been 203x203x 88 the biger posts will be better for joining onto

 

[multi power]

what i was getting at , if you put on a roof do you realy need such big foundations as the roof will hold the walls together

our old silage pits, 1970s, 3ftx3ftx3ft foundation, solid block built tapered walls, near 3ft wide at bottom, they never moved , that was grant spec at the time

 

[MrA.G.]

pit is going next to new building 220ft long x 100 span going up soon was going to shutter the wall 12ft high and use one wall for sillage pit but have been advised this will interupt air flow into shed through the space boarding above the wall(loose housing for dairy cows) shed is 24ft to eaves and open ridge

So if I understand you right you are going to use the cattle house wall as the silo wall with panels to 10ft height instead of a shuttered wall to 12ft high, Could you not just shutter a wall between the sheds stanchions to 10ft leaving 14ft for boarding?

what i was getting at , if you put on a roof do you realy need such big foundations as the roof will hold the walls together

our old silage pits, 1970s, 3ftx3ftx3ft foundation, solid block built tapered walls, near 3ft wide at bottom, they never moved , that was grant spec at the time

The problem is that there are numerous design situations and the engineer has to design for the worst case which could be wet silage with a large shovel rolling along the edge...or if you have a roof it may be wet silage with a large snow load on the roof, in this case the snow and silage want to push the walls out and a portal roof which is pitched hasn't much capacity to restrain the movement.

You could put a horizontal ties between columns but that wouldn't be much use for silage

 

[multi power]

So if I understand you right you are going to use the cattle house wall as the silo wall with panels to 10ft height instead of a shuttered wall to 12ft high, Could you not just shutter a wall between the sheds stanchions to 10ft leaving 14ft for boarding?



The problem is that there are numerous design situations and the engineer has to design for the worst case which could be wet silage with a large shovel rolling along the edge...or if you have a roof it may be wet silage with a large snow load on the roof, in this case the snow and silage want to push the walls out and a portal roof which is pitched hasn't much capacity to restrain the movement.

You could put a horizontal ties between columns but that wouldn't be much use for silage

no big loading shovels in 70s also of course roofs were a lot steeper then, trusses rather than portals

 

[LEAMHEAD]

When we built our pits we went with a roofed design in the end as the cost of the steel in the roof was equal in price to the larger foundations needed with no roof . So extra cost was roof sheets and side cladding . Never regretted it,as soon as one pit is empty got a spare storage shed for a few weeks

 

[Forever Fendt]

just an update all the steelwork is erected and concreted in and panels being delivered next week will post some pictures soon

 

[milkloss]

just an update all the steelwork is erected and concreted in and panels being delivered next week will post some pictures soon

Would like to see it!

 

[Nearly]

Twenty years ago we built a silage pit for the 'next 40 years', poured the 12" walls 6" 'in front' of the uprights so no steel was exposed to effluent, cracking job. It's an indoor arena now!