The development of a five-component stress measuring cell for stress measurements on silos

The discharge of bulk material from silos is usually made by a delivery device situated at the lower end of the silo.

The discharge of bulk material from silos is usually made by a delivery device situated at the lower end of the silo. In order to obtain the optimum design of the silo and the delivery device, information is required on the flow of the bulk material and on the stresses it causes on the silo wall.

In this article the design and function of a stress measuring cell is described which operates on the strain gage principle and which enables the experimental determination of stresses in the wall and bottom of the silo. An example of the application of the equipment to the measurement of the stresses in a silo is described, including the results.