Saturn technology speeds dome construction

Introducing Saturn

Geodesic domes cover ore stockpiles to control emissions and help mines comply with environmental regulations. In the past three decades, Geometrica has supplied hundreds of domes for mines, cement manufacturers, power plants and other processors of bulk materials. Often, a new dome's most important single cost component is installation. Now, a geometric innovation yields much faster construction, with less labor. We call this improvement "Saturn geometry." It reduces installation labor by 50% or more, when compared with other geometries. The Saturn geometry recently was used to build the largest geodesic dome in the world, as well as several smaller domes. In every case, our customers saved dramatically on both labor and completion time.

Saturn geometry

The name comes from the visible pattern of clouds on the planet Saturn, where a series of concentric rings span the sixth planet from the equator to near the pole. At the pole, the rings transform to hexagons. The Saturn geometry for domes built on a circular base follows this pattern from nature.

Concentric rings create a uniform work front, with repeated elements throughout the entire ring. One important aspect of Geometrica's Saturn geometry is the connection of rings with their neighbors, using bars of equal lengths.

These form modules of near-equilateral triangles, reducing both the number of bars and the variation in their lengths and cross-sections, when compared with other geometries, such as those based on trapezoids. Given the same maximum bar lengths, the Saturn geometry substantially reduces installation costs.

Besides minimizing construction elements, the Saturn geometry requires only two types of bars per ring instead of three. This produces more uniform joining angles, which improve the fit of bars in the hub slots. It also speeds the sorting and feeding of material, yielding much faster installation.

Recent experience

The Jeddah Superdome, the world’s largest geodesic dome, covers nearly 35,000 square meters without interior supports. Its structure was assembled--during the pandemic, using Geometrica’s Saturn geometry--in just four months and 64,000 man-hours. Compare this with a circular dome built in Atacama, Chile. With one-third of the covered area (11,700 square meters), it required 69,000 man-hours of assembly labor without Saturn geometry.

The Beltrami Dome in Minnesota, 107 meters in diameter, was assembled in two short months and 15,000 man-hours—in snow country—with Saturn geometry. Compare this with a stockpile dome in Chile, 110 meters in diameter, which required 45,000 man-hours without Saturn.

Saturn geometry also works in smaller domes. The Juanicipio dome, covering 2,330 square meters, was installed in 3,000 man-hours. Compare a fine-ore stockpile dome in Atacama that covers 2,480 square meters and required 8,300 man-hours to install, without Saturn.

The Saturn geometry is producing the fastest circular-dome assembly times for all sizes of stockpiles, from the smallest of 50 meters or less, to the largest of more than 200 meters.

Saturn's hexagon in the world's largest geodesic dome

A proven and certified system

The structural system of strong, corrosion-resistant galvanized steel or aluminum has been used in domes spanning more than 200 meters, without intermediate supports required during or after installation. The light, prefabricated domes are containerized and shipped from Geometrica’s plant to any location, worldwide. Geometrica's quality system is certified under international quality standards: ISO 9001:2015, ISO 3834-2 and Factory Production Control (FPC) Certification for CE Marking, with Execution Class EXC3. Geometrica has supplied geodesic storage domes in more than 40 countries. Installation proceeds quickly, one ring at a time, from the perimeter ring up, using manlifts and cranes, until closing at the apex.

Saturn geometry for circular domes, by Geometrica, reduces labor costs by 50% and helps your mine meet its environmental goals in record time.