How to Choose & Maintain Cement Silos for Concrete Mixing Plants?

A cement silo in a mixing plant is a piece of equipment used to store cement and is usually a large storage structure. It serves the purpose of storing and supplying cement during the concrete production process.

What is a cement silo?

Cement silos are usually constructed of reinforced concrete or steel structures with sufficient strength and stability to withstand the weight of the cement and external pressure. Cement silos are designed with the shelf life and storage conditions of the cement in mind to ensure that the quality of the cement is not compromised.

The cement silo is usually located on the side or back of the mixing plant and is connected to the production line of the mixing plant by a conveyor system. The cement is transported to the cement silo by conveying equipment (e.g. screw conveyor, pneumatic conveying, etc.) from the conveying vehicle or other supply source to the top of the silo.

At the top of the cement silo, there is usually an opening for loading cement and connecting it to the conveying equipment. Inside the cement silo there are usually multiple storage chambers for storing large quantities of cement and conveying it to the concrete mixer or other equipment of the production line through the discharge opening.

To ensure the quality of the cement, cement silos are usually moisture-proof, dust-proof and insulated. They are usually equipped with sealing devices and moisture-proofing equipment to prevent the cement from absorbing moisture or being affected by external humidity. In addition, cement silos can be installed with dust removal equipment to reduce the pollution of the environment by dust.

How to choose the quantity of cement silo when purchasing a concrete mixing plant?

The number of cement silos is generally based on the size of the mixing plant, like a 50-ton cement silo is sufficient for a 25-station, but four 200-ton cement silos for a 180-station. There is another kind of concrete mixing plant production according to the need to use several kinds of powder, then at least a few cement silos, and then according to the specific situation for a certain kind or several kinds of powder set more silos to ensure supply.

Among the factors affecting the number of cement silos are the following two points:

1, if the concrete mixing plant and cement plant manufacturers are far away, then we need more cement reserves, then it is necessary to buy more bulk cement silos to be prepared. If it is nearer, it only needs to see the use.

2, if the user's demand for concrete raw materials is large, then the raw materials needed will increase, in order to supply what is needed in time, the mixing plant manufacturers need to book a large amount of cement or fly ash and so on. So it is also necessary to buy more cement silos, and if the manufacturers conveying these raw materials are close to each other, you can also buy them according to the amount.

What is the role of the cement silo of mixing plant to break the arch?

In order to prevent the cement silo powder from arching, the cone part of the silo is equipped with a blowing arch-breaking device, which uses solenoid valve to control the release of compressed air to break the arch of powder, the solenoid valve is controlled by microcomputer according to the powder supply time, that is, the powder will automatically break the arch after supplying 30s and still cannot reach the specified amount, and it can also be manually controlled to break the arch.

What are the unique features of cement hopper in cement silo?

The cement metering hopper consists of a hopper body and a discharging door, which are mounted on the frame by three sensors. The hopper body is made of formed plates and the discharge door is made of pneumatic butterfly valve. The cement is fed by a screw conveyor, which is connected with a waterproof canvas sleeve between the screw conveyor and the metering hopper, and the outlet of the metering hopper is also connected with the mixer cover by a canvas sleeve. The upper end of the metering hopper is equipped with dust removal port and dust collector to achieve dust removal effect. All canvas sleeves and dust removal tubes should not be tensed too tightly in order to ensure cement metering accuracy. The sensor should be removed when transporting state in order to prevent damage to the sensor during transportation.

What is the difference between sheet cement silo and integral cement silo of mixing plant?

Sheet cement silo's body is made by press molding and die-casting, which makes the product small in size and easy to transport. It is suitable for export container and domestic long-distance transportation. Integral cement silo is a one-piece integral silo, with large volume and long and high cargo itself, which is suitable for close distance transportation, where cement silo of 200 tons or more needs to be made on site, which is not convenient for transportation. The use of these two kinds of cement silos is now very common, and you can choose the cement silo suitable for your own mixing plant according to your needs.

What are the daily checks of cement silo on concrete mixing plant?

Check the working condition of cement bin level meter, check whether the coupling bolts of motor dust removal device on the top of the bin are loose and tighten them again. Check whether the discharge door is in place when it is closed and whether there is any leakage, especially the admixture discharge door, and check whether the butterfly valve is closed tightly when it is closed. If there is leakage, it should be adjusted.

What are the benefits of cement silo dust collector needing regular cleaning?

Cement silo dust collector mainly plays the role of dust absorption and energy saving, so after using cement silo for a period of time, you need to regularly clean the cement silo dust collector, otherwise it will affect its normal work efficiency. Now cement bin dust collector is generally pulse, better dust absorption effect, but after a long time use will also increase with the dust its dust absorption capacity slowly reduced, which requires mixing plant staff to regularly clean the dust collector to ensure that the dust collector internal filter element to maintain good working condition and efficiency, the same dust collector regular cleaning will also extend the service life of the cement bin dust collector.

What are the potential dangers of using used bulk cement silos?

It does not matter how a container looks on the outside, what matters is the internal environment. The hazards of used bulk cement tanks are often the root cause of changes in materials such as cement. We can know that a good quality bulk cement tank is durable in preventing lumping, as well as in preventing dust and moisture. However, if we use an unknown used bulk cement tank, the original protection function will be reduced with the number of times it is used, which will lead to the weakening or even failure of the function of preventing lumping, etc. When we buy a used bulk cement tank, and the long-term tank to accommodate new cement, the consequences can be imagined: one is to lead to cement lumping, resulting in the waste of raw materials, and the second is the cement block deteriorate due to air and other environmental reasons. The end result is that it often leads to problems in the acceptance of a project. Finally lead to failure to pass the acceptance of the inspector, bringing huge economic losses. The honor of both labor and management is damaged.

ZOOMJO is a professional manufacturer of mixing plants. No matter what problems you encounter in choosing the type of mixing plant, installation or operation and maintenance of the plant, our professional team is ready to help you. We have experienced engineers and technical experts who can provide accurate advice and technical support to meet your needs.