Articles & News
Articles & News
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- by Rebecca Pyper
Selecting a new grain-storage solution is a big decision, but with it comes the opportunity for big, economical growth. Dome […]
Selecting a new grain-storage solution is a big decision, but with it comes the opportunity for big, economical growth.
Dome Technology builds bulk-storage domes with economic advantages that come from steel-reinforced concrete construction. A dome’s strength provides a few key benefits that combine to potentially improve a company’s bottom line.
1. Large capacity.
Oftentimes those who buy land on a port get less property for their money, requiring decisions on how to achieve the necessary storage on a smaller parcel of land.
Because of its height, a dome allows companies to stack product deeper, taking up less property at the site. The double curvature of a dome lends itself to the ability to build up, rather than out, and that curve provides strength at all points of the structure, even near the apex. The entire interior of a dome, then, can be used to contain product.
2. Increased throughput.
The dome tolerates frequent loading and unloading, outperforming steel structures over time. The dome’s tolerance for cyclic throughput is high because of its structural integrity. Filling and emptying will stress any structure, but a dome’s rebar accepts the load without fatigue problems; the stress is not channeled to weak spots like bolts or seams because there aren’t any. The robust nature of a dome doesn’t require regular maintenance, and the concrete shell’s lifespan is indefinite.
3. Increased mix and blend.
For processors, shuttle loaders and exporters, blending is essential. The strength of the dome makes blending or mixing and blending possible. A dome is cost competitive with silos when providing the ability to pull from multiple gates, an option limited with steel tanks.
“Domes allow you to maximize blending capability, giving companies the opportunity to maximize profits and efficiencies,” Dome Technology sales manager Heath Harrison said. “The grain industry operates on tight margins, so sometimes throughput and mix and blend are all we have to increase the bottom line. Domes and DomeSilos will maximize that bottom line.”
In addition to these benefits, recent construction advances are yielding better results for grain companies. For instance, Dome Technology has pioneered round explosion panels that channel pressure out of the structure, preventing structural damage in the event of an explosion.
Companies eager to secure no-entry options can explore different reclaim systems that make this possible; Dome Technology’s in-house engineers work closely with customers to determine reclaim that delivers necessary throughput and keeps employees safe.
Lastly, for companies moving product from barge to storage to truck in short order, the Drive-Thru DomeSilo might be the answer. Dome Technology has pioneered the Drive-Thru DomeSilo, a tall, skinny dome with drive-through capability that stores more product on a smaller footprint than a silo of comparable dimensions and allows for direct load-out. The model debuted in the cement industry in the summer of 2018 but is now available for economical grain storage too.
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from an article published in the March 2019 issue of Dry Cargo International.
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- by Rebecca Pyper
Cement-industry magazine World Cement has published an online feature about the Drive-Thru DomeSilo. The article highlights the Drive-Thru built at a […]
Cement-industry magazine World Cement has published an online feature about the Drive-Thru DomeSilo.
The article highlights the Drive-Thru built at a Continental Cement terminal in Memphis, Tennessee, in the U.S.
The Drive-Thru stands 100 feet tall and has a 50 foot diameter with a 4,500 metric ton storage capacity. It is part of an existing terminal purchased by Continental Cement that required significant upgrades and additions, all of which Dome Technology oversaw as general contractor.
Dome Technology developed the Drive-Thru DomeSilo for companies to fill truck or rail directly from the storage structure and to speed up the process of product reception to delivery. To read the full text, visit World Cement.
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- by Rebecca Pyper
The Intermountain Chapter of the American Concrete Institute has selected Dome Technology as winner of a 2019 Excellence in Concrete […]
The Intermountain Chapter of the American Concrete Institute has selected Dome Technology as winner of a 2019 Excellence in Concrete Award for its Holter Dam rehabilitation.
NorthWestern Energy operates the dam’s four-unit hydroelectric plant with a total generating capacity of 53 megawatts and hired Dome Technology to revitalize the century-old spillway bridge.
The dam required rehabilitation of 21 of the spillway’s bays, all of them with stanchions and flashboards controlling the flow. Dome Technology was tasked with repairing the concrete surfaces of the bridge structure. Read more about the project here.
According to its website, ACI is a worldwide authority and resource for the development and distributionof consensus-based standards, technical resources, educational programs, and proven expertise for individuals and organizations involved in concrete design, construction, and materials.The Intermountain chapter includes companies from Utah, southern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southwestern Montana.
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- by Rebecca Pyper
In an effort to prevent storm damage and loss of life, FEMA makes it possible for tornado-prone areas to access […]
In an effort to prevent storm damage and loss of life, FEMA makes it possible for tornado-prone areas to access grant money to cover storm-shelter costs—often paying as much as 75 percent of the structure.
Here are a few helpful things to know before beginning the application process, according to FEMA.gov:
- The Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program was developed to be proactive. According to FEMA.gov, “Mitigation planning is a key process used to break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. PDM grants are funded annually by Congressional appropriations and are awarded on a nationally competitive basis.”
- The maximum federal share for a mitigation project, like a storm shelter, is $4 million. Federal funding is available for as much as 75 percent of eligible costs; however, small impoverished communities may be eligible for as much as 90 percent Federal cost share.
- For most of the storm shelters Dome Technology builds, grant money covers 75 percent of the cost of the shell; this requires the balance plus interior finishing to be funded in other ways.
- Before grant money will be awarded, FEMA must approve the plan. FEMA makes funding decisions based on most effective use of grant funds.
- States, federally-recognized tribes, and local governments are all eligible to apply for grant monies, but applying requires planning ahead. For instance, local governments are considered subapplicants and must submit project applications to their state during the open application cycle. From there, the state prioritizes applications and forwards them to FEMA. The Fiscal Year 2018 application cycle was Oct. 1, 2018, through Jan. 31, 2019. The dates for Fiscal Year 2019 have yet to be released but will be shared here when available.
- In FY 2018, $235.2 million was available to assist state, tribal territorial, and local governments through this program. As a rule, $15 million is set aside for Native American Tribal applicants; the remainder of PDM Grant program funds are distributed to eligible applicants.
- FEMA publishes an annual fact sheet highlighting the agency’s priorities for the year. This document is called “TY 2018 PDM Fact Sheet” and can be accessed online here.
Sources:
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- by Rebecca Pyper
At Dome Technology, we build more than storage domes. Here is a snapshot of some current projects: Ozinga Dome Technology […]
At Dome Technology, we build more than storage domes. Here is a snapshot of some current projects:
Ozinga
Dome Technology is wrapping up another project for concrete-producer Ozinga in Chicago, Illinois. The team was hired as construction manager for terminal expansion and oversaw the erection of two 4,000-ton silos, one rail silo, one blower building/electrical room, and three operator load-out kiosks. The new silos will store slag and fly ash.
In addition, new rail lines and switches were built, and piping, electrical, and controls were installed that allow the new storage and load-out systems to interface with the existing systems. Two new truck scales and one new rail scale were added to the site, as well as automation and programming for these systems.
A host of conveyance options were also introduced. For offloading, product can be conveyed from a barge, railcar, or truck; product can also be transferred from the existing 50,000-metric-ton dome, which Dome Technology built in 2017. On the loading side, inbound product can be housed in one of the 4,000-ton silos, the rail silo, or the existing 10,000-ton tanks or loaded into trucks or rail cars—“that’s a lot of versatility,” said Dome Technology project manager Brent Toone.
Hansen School District gymnasium
The interior build-out is underway in Hansen, Idaho, on an auxiliary gym for Hansen School District 415. The $1 million gym features a domed roof 120 feet in diameter built upon a 14-foot insulated-concrete-form stem wall. Total square footage is 11,310.
According to superintendent David Carson, the new gymnasium will make it easier for students and locals to schedule practice time and community events. “We were able to get a good facility at the price point we were looking at,” Carson said. “This will be used as a community center as well. Anytime you can have a second gym, it helps in a lot of ways.”
Interior features include a regulation basketball court, an exercise room, a walking track, ADA-compliant bathrooms, and locker rooms.
Funtown Splashtown USA
The dome built for Funtown Splashtown USA is complete. Located in Saco, Maine, the reinforced-concrete dome is an upgrade to the Astrosphere, a fabric dome that previously housed a Scrambler ride with a laser and light show.
Previously the Astrosphere was inflated constantly by fan, and the airform was approaching its 15-year lifespan. Park owners had employed air domes for this ride since the mid-1970s, requiring that the airform and ride be taken down for the off season, then reassembled come spring. Ready for something permanent with little maintenance, the company contracted with Dome Technology to build the dome.
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- by Rebecca Pyper
As more coal companies find themselves tasked with covering ground piles, the need for reliable, sealed coal storage is on […]
As more coal companies find themselves tasked with covering ground piles, the need for reliable, sealed coal storage is on the increase. Dome Technology’s bulk-storage domes, some of which are DomeSilos™ while others are more hemispherical, provide this kind of security but also are engineered with environmentally friendly features that will satisfy companies and governments for decades to come.
What is a dome?
A dome’s robustness comes from its construction materials. The airform acts as an impermeable membrane to keep moisture at bay. The steel-reinforced concrete shell provides insulation and climate control inside. Combined with steel reinforcement and nature’s perfectly strong shape, domes are well-suited for weathering any storm.
These qualities allow the dome to tolerate frequent loading and unloading. A dome’s tolerance for cyclic loading and unloading is high because of its structural integrity, compared to steel silos built with fasteners or welded seams.
At sites where settlement is a concern, domes can be designed to tolerate some movement; however, there may be other solutions besides deep (and expensive) foundations. Dome Technology helps customers explore options that often reduce costs by selecting an innovative foundation solution that delivers necessary support at the base. That also means less disturbance of the environment.
Due to the inherent strength of the dome and its efficient structural shape, virtually the entire structure can be filled with coal, maximizing storage capacity and minimizing overall project costs compared to other structures.
The benefits of these features are obvious, but what is less clear is how a dome inherently provides environmental protection too. Seamless construction and innovative dust-removal systems keep coal where it needs to be and prevent contamination of the site.
Sealed and secure
The PVC airform covering the entire dome structure provides waterproofing—what’s outside can’t get inside and the opposite is true too. This airform prevents fugitive dust from escaping through joints or seams because there aren’t any in a monolithic dome.
This degree of protection was a main reason ADM chose a dome for its coal cogeneration plant in Clinton, Iowa. According to ADM Clinton Cogeneration plant manager Kevin Duffy, ADM has always stored coal inside some sort of structure to manage dust. But selecting a dome from Dome Technology was an improved means of maintaining coal quality. The dome’s seamless construction protects coal since “you don’t get rain, (and) you don’t pick up the other moisture from weather events,” Duffy said.
The dome is airtight except wherever penetrations are made, aiding in the containment of inert gases pumped inside to minimize available oxygen for fueling fires.
The structure itself can survive a disaster other types of storage might not and will likely reward customers with insurance-premium savings. A dome has inherent strength other bulk-storage structures do not. Should an earthquake, tsunami, or tornado occur, the structure has a better chance of survival than a traditional building, and the product inside will not be introduced into the environment.
Minimal dust build-up
Since domes are built without the use of interior supports, dust build-up on trusses isn’t a concern. Secondary explosions — the kind caused when initial explosions shake loose accumulated coal dust — are less likely because the support-free domes have no ledges for dust to build up. This advantage alone was one of the most attractive feature for China Coal, who built six domes with Dome Technology. “One of the major dome advantages is to prevent fire because there are no interior shelves to collect dust, and China Coal liked that a lot—for them it was a big deal,” Dome Technology CEO Bradley Bateman said.
How collected dust is dealt with
Managing dust is essential to protecting the environment, and again the dome provides the first line of defense. Sealed and seamless, dust is contained inside and cannot be released into the atmosphere or environment.
Beyond the storage structure, a host of dust-control systems exist in the marketplace. One option is a spray-down system that sprays coal with water to wet the dust, preventing it from becoming airborne. Because water decreases coal’s useful BTU value, this systemis not popular. One variation is to spray oil onto coal instead of water; the dust is still managed, but the useful BTU values are not reduced — though companies must assign a portion of the budget to purchasing oil.
To collect dust within the dome, a wet extraction system is the preferred approach because it “essentially pulls the dust through a water system so it becomes wet, and that’s what pulls out the dust rather than a bag, so now the dust is wet and not nearly as combustible,” engineer for Dome Technology Adam Aagard said. The system pulls the dust through a duct until it can be removed from the facility or destroyed. The scrubber is an attractive alternative to a baghouse system that pulls particulates through a fabric filter, thus collecting dust and storing it in a high concentration where the chance of combustion is still real.
Automatic dust-collection systems can be designed to convey dust away pneumatically via belt to a combuster. Alternately, dust can be collected in a bin or super sack to be hauled away.
Editor’s note: The preceding is an excerpt from a piece published in the Winter 2018 issue of Dry Bulk by Rebecca Long Pyper for Dome Technology
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- by Rebecca Pyper
A video documenting construction of the first Drive-Thru DomeSilo is now available. The Drive-Thru was built at a recently acquired […]
A video documenting construction of the first Drive-Thru DomeSilo is now available.
The Drive-Thru was built at a recently acquired Continental Cement site in Memphis. While the existing silo and adjacent scale had not been used for some time, complete upgrades of these assets along with a new barge unloader, dock upgrades and Drive-Thru dome have allowed Continental Cement to become the leader in service in the Memphis market.
With dimensions of approximately 100 feet tall and 50 feet in diameter, the Drive-Thru can be supplied by barge from any one of Continental Cement’s plants and can hold 5,000 metric tons. The engineering design of the new barge unloader allows discharge into either the Drive-Thru dome or the 3,000-ton traditional silo. New aeration of the existing silo allows for a much-increased truck-loading rate. A cantilevered bridge between the Drive-Thru dome and the pre-existing silo makes not only for more efficient access, but more importantly, a safer work environment.
The Drive-Thru delivers 100 percent live reclaim from a fully aerated floor. Product flows through a hopper for loading into truck and, potentially in the future, rail. An in-line lump crusher on the loadout stack-up ensures that lumps passed through the receiving system do not make it into trucks. The dome can receive 350 mtph from the barge unloader and load out at 320 mtph.
The Drive-Thru DomeSilo video highlights the facility’s many and varied components and provides a bird’s-eye view of the site. For more information and additional photos, click here.
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- by Emily Gudermuth
Think once you’ve chosen a product to store in a dome, you’re locked in for life? Think again. Transitioning from […]
Think once you’ve chosen a product to store in a dome, you’re locked in for life? Think again. Transitioning from one bulk material to another might not be as complicated as you’d expect, especially if your company anticipates potential shifts from the get-go.
Dome Technology clients have made storage changes in the past, and one customer will switch from wood pellets to grain this fall. It’s a smart way to maximize on existing infrastructure and to ensure multiple options are available no matter what the market does, said Dome Technology sales manager Lane Roberts. “In case (an industry) fell through, a company would still have the capability to reach out to other things,” he said.
The easiest way to make a dome versatile for distinct products is to develop the project with Plan B in mind. Here are a few factors company management and facility operators should consider for a smooth transition:
- To maximize storage, plan a facility designed for the heaviest product. This ensures engineers will design the dome and its systems for the hardest work they might face.
- The easiest changes occur between similar products. A company switching from, say, coal to petcoke isn’t going to require the same degree of calculations, reconfiguring, or cleaning as switching from canola to sugar.
- To determine if an existing dome can store a different product, look first at the foundation. “Say you have a dome that can store 100,000 MT of product. You could potentially store 100,000 MT of a different product with similar ground loading characteristics with no foundation modifications required,” said engineer for Dome Technology Adam Aagard.
- When the stored products have dramatically different angles of repose, it is important to consider how changing the products will affect the foundation system. For instance, for a dome storing cement clinker with a steep angle of repose — about 45 degrees — switching to cement powder with 10 to 12 degrees will change the loading profile on the foundation system. That’s because the clinker will have a higher load in the middle of the dome floor and lower load on the perimeter while the cement will have pretty much the same loading straight across. “Changes in stored product in the dome can often be easily accommodated through collaboration with our dynamic team,” said Dome Technology CEO Bradley Bateman.
- Cleaning the inside of the dome shouldn’t be a deterrent. Either a good spray down with water or a scrub with detergent might be all that’s required. In most cases, any residue left behind would be negligible, but considerations will vary industry to industry.
- If you are planning to switch products in the future, not everything needs to be considered upfront; some features can be added later. For instance, if the new product requires a different conveyance system, that’s a relatively easy change — though it obviously comes with a cost.
- Something to consider is possible chemical incompatibilities between respective products. For example, some fertilizer will corrode standard rebar; if the previous stored product didn’t have this concern, steps would need to be taken to mitigate corrosion as needed.
Editor’s note: The preceding is an excerpt of an article published in the Sept. 2018 issue of Dry Cargo International.
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- by Emily Gudermuth
Forty years into the dome-building process, Dome Technology continues to innovate as it builds each custom dome, and with more […]
Forty years into the dome-building process, Dome Technology continues to innovate as it builds each custom dome, and with more than 600 domes in the portfolio, it’s easy to see why.
“We built the first wood-pellet dome and have since built all of the wood-pellet domes around the world,” said Dome Technology CEO Bradley Bateman. “As a pioneer in the dome-construction process, we innovate and provide optimal systems for our customers, proving to be the trusted experts for bulk storage.”
The model of choice for wood pellets is the DomeSilo™, a robust structure that rivals silos in cost efficiency and dominates in storage capacity. Although each project is unique, a few benefits are constant with every DomeSilo:
Small footprint, affordable foundation
Prime portside property comes with a big price tag, and companies get less land for the money than they likely will elsewhere. A DomeSilo makes the most of available property, providing more storage than silos or flat storage with the same size footprint.
Because of its geometry, this kind of dome allows companies to store more product. The double curvature of a dome lends itself to the ability to build up, rather than out, and the curve provides strength at all points of the structure, even at the apex. The entire interior of a dome, then, can be used to store product.
Establishing the right foundation will always be of utmost concern on a port with its low-strength soils. The Dome Technology team specializes in exploring innovative alternatives to expensive deep foundations; some common options include the following:
- Where the top six to eight feet of ground is less-than-desirable material, it can be replaced with controlled structural fill. This model allows for some settlement, but the amount will be within tolerable parameters for a dome.
- When the top 15 to 50 feet of soil doesn’t provide the needed bearing strength, stone columns are a workable option. Crews use an auger to remove soil in about a 30-inch (76-cm) diameter hole down to a suitable, soil-bearing layer. Rock is placed in the hole and compacted, increasing the strength of the soil. With soft or clay-concentrated soils, a casing must be used to prevent it from collapsing on itself.
- The dome ring foundation or ring beam is a shallow foundation system that can be used at sites with acceptable soil conditions. This is an especially viable option at sites with consolidated soils from supporting heavy storage facilities in the past.
For areas where deeper foundations are required, other systems are available.
Various foundation systems can work for a dome and its smaller footprint, and a front-end engineering design study will determine which is best and provide budgetary numbers so companies can compare costs with other storage types. That being said, a dome might not require a deep foundation at all. Steel-reinforced concrete on its own tolerates some degree of settlement and movement compared to a large flat storage.
Customization
As a pioneer in dome construction, Dome Technology’s company culture is steeped in innovation. Here are a couple recent additions to the list of custom features offered to customers:
Round explosion panels
Until now, square and rectangular explosion venting has been the norm in storing products prone to deflagration, but Dome Technology’s team has pioneered a round hybrid model that has been installed on domes since 2016.
“No matter what system, you’re creating a weak spot with panels, whether it’s a pre-manufactured rectangular panel or a metal cladding piece. This is a round panel, which in a dome is nice because you don’t get sharp corners for stress concentrators,” said engineer for Dome Technology Adam Aagard.
The proprietary explosion vents are comprised of a circular geodesic steel lattice covered with the same PVC fabric used in the dome construction process. The panel is anchored to the dome with explosion-venting relief screws that remain secure during the design dead, live and wind loads. But in the event of a deflagration event, the screws release the panel and allow for the release of the excessive internal pressure. The system is watertight and meets the required operational design loads.
When an explosion occurs, the fabric accepts the load and transfers it uniformly around the ring’s circumference. “Because it’s circular we can predict the load going to each of the fasteners really well,” said Jason South, Dome Technology Vice President of Engineering, Research and Development. “If it were rectangular, the pressure going to each fastener could be different,” and more difficult to estimate.
In addition, the shape of the structure channels energy through the openings, reducing the chance of the dome shell being compromised should an explosion occur. The truss-free structure removes dust build-up concerns, and the double curvature has proven in real-world examples that a dome is structurally stable under extreme fire and heat conditions.
The filling tube
Wood-pellet companies working with Dome Technology have the option of installing a filling tube as an innovative way to load pellets with reduced dust and better product protection.
The filling tube is based on a concept common in coal and ore storage. A belt conveyor moves product into the top of the dome, where pellets enter the filling tube. Openings are incrementally located along the tube’s shaft, and product rolls through the openings and into the pile, resulting in smoother, more even pile creation. Dome Technology sales manager Lane Roberts said he is fielding more calls than ever about installing filling tubes.
According to engineer for Dome Technology Doug Weber, the difference in the pile is obvious; pellets loaded with a filling tube look cleaner and are stacked more uniformly. This mode of filling also reduces the likelihood and/or severity of deflagration. This is possible since the airborne dust concentration is reduced. Most dust is confined within the tube; as a result, the filling tube acts as a crucial part of a dome’s deflagration-mitigation plan.
“To have an explosion due to dust particles, you have to have a certain concentration in the air, and we can drive this concentration below that level,” Weber said. “This is really mitigating the risk of deflagration.”
The tube also protects product integrity, minimizing fines generated during the drawdown process by reducing the pressure head on the product flow line. Although there are no guarantees regarding the reduction of fines, “based on experience, it reduces the fines considerably,” Aagard said.
Four filling tubes have been installed in four different wood-pellet domes, two for Savannah Bulk Terminal in Georgia, USA, and two for QSL in Quebec, Canada. Customers with a filling tube report lower percentages of fines during ship loading than previously experienced.
According to Peeples Industries project manager Brad Orwig, the filling tubes in the Savannah domes have worked very well for the company since installation four years ago. “The pack factor has been reduced or completely eliminated. The stratified dust blanket has been reduced or eliminated, allowing a reduction of degradation during storage as well as improving the breathability of the pile,” he said, adding that on the discharge side, the shear within the pile is reduced.
An existing structure can be retrofitted to accommodate a filling tube, but Aagard said the less-expensive option is to have the foundation planned and constructed with the filling tube in mind.
In an era when innovation and customization aren’t extras, they’re expected, more bulk-storage customers seek a structure that will last, that fits within the budget, and that will maintain product integrity. Dome Technology delivers an innovative, one-stop-shop solution.
“We can handle everything, from the soil solution they’re going to need to designing not just the storage but the handling and the safety side,” Roberts said.
Editor’s note: The preceding is an excerpt from an article about Dome Technology domes published in World Biomass and distributed at the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association conference in fall of 2018.
By Rebecca Long Pyper for Dome Technology
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- by Emily Gudermuth
Dome Technology will soon break ground on a community safe shelter in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority […]
Dome Technology will soon break ground on a community safe shelter in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority (PARA) contracted with Dome Technology to build the FEMA-designed dome, which will meet ICC 500 specifications.
When complete the structure will stand 128 feet in diameter and 43 feet high and feature one regulation basketball court with bleachers and restrooms. The new building will be located just north of the existing McDonald Hughes Community Center; a covered walkway will connect the two buildings.
The City of Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa County Commission provided funding for this storm shelter.
“The 2011 tornado that left a one-mile path of destruction through the center of our city and the loss of 52 lives in our community helped us realize the need and value of storm-shelter availability,” PARA public relations and marketing manager Becky Booker said. The storm shelter will be the largest in Tuscaloosa County.
Storm shelters like these are important community assets because they provide protection for those who can’t evacuate, said Dome Technology sales manager Daren Wheeler.
“It can become an evacuation center, a triage center—there’s just a lot of uses for this building. It’s just a win for the community. The best part of it is that these buildings can now compete with any structure out there cost-wise,” he said, noting that when it comes to FEMA criteria, dome safe shelters are usually the most affordable option.