Long Span for Long Piles
If mines, ports, power and cement plants around the world have one thing in common, it's the need to have enormous stockpiles of dry bulk material. And, managing these stockpiles for greater sustainability, efficiency, safety and protection is an increasing challenge. We have the solution.
Our geodesic domes cover any kind of stockpile regardless of shape, material and size to provide an economic-, operations-, and planet-friendly solution.
Generally, stockpiles may be classified into four categories by their material handling method and shape:
Ring piles - formed by automated circular stacking/reclaiming equipment with a fixed drop.
Conical piles - material is dropped from the end of a fixed conveyor belt.
Free form pile - irregular piles shaped with moveable conveyors or trucks and reshaped with front end loaders.
Longitudinal piles - long, prismatic piles loaded with a side stacker, or tripper car from above.
For this article, we’ll focus on the most common shape to store a large volume of bulk material — longitudinal piles.
Our barrel vaults start at 40m and can span up to 150m
Vaults for Prismatic Piles
Barrel vaults enclose long, prismatic piles and provide clearance for the equipment that stacks and reclaims the pile. Piles are typically formed with a side stacker or an overhead tripper conveyor, and reclaimed with scraper or front end loader.
Geometrica offers barrel vaults that suit virtually any operational condition. To fit the specific site requirements and maximize storage volume, we can design parabolic, circular, acute, bent and compound curve profile structures.
Parabolic: These work best for the longest spans with heavy gravity loads such as snow, and moderate wind loads.
Parabolic profile
Limestone storage, Mexico
Circular: Ideal for high wind loads.
Circular profile
Coal storage, Tunisia
Acute: This geometry is designed to carry concentrated loads such as walkways or tripper cars, and to shed snow.
Acute profile
Mineral ore storage, Peru
Bent: This is selected when the footprint space is very constrained.
Bent profile
Longitudinal bent profile structure
Compound curve: Alternative to Bent when space is constrained.
Compound curve profile
Coal and limestone storage, Mexico
Easy and Quick Installation
Geometrica's assembly process ensures a fast, safe and easy installation at every job site. With on-site expert guidance, our structures are installed with locally-sourced labor. All of the structure’s connections are mechanical so, no welding is required.
To build the vault, we usually start near the center. Half arches are pre-assembled on the ground, then lifted with cranes and joined at the apex to make one rib. Additional ribs are added, and joined (or “stitched”) together. This process is repeated and continued towards each end. When the main section is complete, ends are then built and lifted into position, if required. Cladding is added and the structure is complete.
Half arches are pre-assembled on a project in Tunisia
Half arches are joined together to form a rib
Structures may be designed so that installation is done while the pile is in operation. Our goal is to seamlessly connect bulk storage solutions with operations - and, importantly, with zero downtime.
Hazardous Materials
Ensuring bulk materials maintain consistent properties over time without varying chemical composition is one challenge. Storing corrosive bulk materials such as coal, wood chips, urea, fertilizer, sulfur and other sensitive stockpiles, present even more challenges. These may include corrosive attack on a structure's metallic components or, because of combustibility, present a high explosion risk.
Aluminum structure with internal cladding protects the stock and the envrionment from each other
Our barrel vaults are the answer to a host of challenges. There simply is no substitute for a structure custom designed to protect raw material from the elements ... and, the environment from the stockpile.
Geometrica tames hazardous atmospheres with a combination of corrosion resistant materials suited for a particular site and application. For instance, steel tubes are always galvanized, and may be powder-coated over the galvanizing. Vaults may also be fabricated with aluminum tubes. And interior cladding may also be added to the structure. For the most aggressive interior environments, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) cladding can be applied to help control combustible coal dust or corrosive stockpiles such as urea or fertilizer.
The ends of any vault may be left open, or closed with semi-domes or flat space frame walls
Planet-friendly Solutions
Geometrica specializes in the design and installation of long span storage solutions that help stockpile operators tread more softly around Mother Nature. Efficiency, economy and environmental responsibility are hallmarks of our designs. By enclosing a stockpile, dust is contained and runoff is eliminated.
At Geometrica, we believe that industry and nature can coexist on some of the largest scales imaginable. Regardless of geography or climate, Geometrica designs domes that deliver both business- and eco-friendly solutions.
Our mission is to provide customized storage solutions to industries around the world. The question is: “What can Geometrica do for you? “ To learn more, please complete our inquiry form and let’s get started.