Dome Technology has added a new tool to streamline its quality-control reporting.

Superintendents at projects worldwide are now using a mobile-forms app to submit daily reports. By using a smartphone or tablet, superintendents and foremen are currently completing all their QC forms using the app. The mobile forms not only allow them to report on daily production numbers and complete their daily quality checklists, but all safety forms, purchase orders and equipment forms are also filled out with this system.

The app has simplified reporting and is saving site managers a tremendous amount of time, said Dome Technology quality-control manager Travis Benedict. “It’s something they can do on their phones while they’re supervising their guys work,” he said, adding that superintendents can also take photos with their phones and seamlessly add those to reports.

Superintendents at a site without wi-fi access can still fill out forms, which will automatically send when internet is available.

Before the new system was introduced, superintendents filled out forms by hand, then scanned and uploaded documents to the quality-control system. Not only does the app eliminate the by-hand step, but it also retains information in the appropriate fields—like project name and location—that doesn’t change day to day. Also, the system can utilize a smartphone’s talk-to-text features and produces easy-to-read, professional-looking PDF reports, Benedict said.

For more than 20 years Vibrafloor has provided advanced reclaim options for bulk-handling companies.

As the name suggests, Vibrafloor utilizes vibration to create a wave in a flexible steel plate, which erodes the stored material and gently sweeps the product towards the outlets for reclaiming. Multiple modules cover the floor of a storage facility, using the wave energy to collapse the leading edge of stored product, break down bridging and cause the product to fall and aerate. After collapsing, the product becomes fluidized by the vibration, which allows it to be gently swept into the troughs and reclaim tunnels.

Because Vibrafloor efficiently reclaims a wide variety of free flowing and cohesive products, it appeals to customers from diverse markets, particularly those seeking high redundancy and high reclaim rates and those requiring the full volume of the dome to be cleared to avoid the risks associated with long term residence of product in storage. Vibrafloor is also a good choice for customers moving more difficult products like potash and sticky soymeal.

One key Vibrafloor benefit is low maintenance; the product requires no routine maintenance aside from regularly scheduled inspections. The system consumes low levels of energy, achieves complete store emptying, and suffers minimal wear from abrasive products. The vibration level does not transfer any damaging vibration or stress the storage facility, generate dust, or degrade stored materials.

For customers concerned about safety, Vibrafloor is completely automatic in operation, avoiding the need for personnel to enter the dome. The modular construction also provides a high level of redundancy unmatched by other reclaim technologies.

Initially, the system was assembled in situ on site, “which was time consuming, expensive, and difficult to maintain the exacting standards,” said commercial director Simon Prince of Vibrafloor. For many years “the modules have been factory-produced, pre-assembled modules, which makes installation much easier and quicker, ensuring quality standards can be maintained.” Typically Dome Technology’s team, supplemented by local labor, installs the floor on its own projects; Vibrafloor then provides start-up assistance to ensure proper function.

For more information, watch Vibrafloor’s introduction video.

Geopier Foundation Company developed the first Rammed Aggregate Pier® system as an efficient and cost-effective Intermediate Foundation® solution for the support of structures. Hundreds of bulk-storage projects around the world are supported by Geopier technologies.

Geopier RAP systems are constructed by applying direct vertical ramming energy to increase the lateral stress and improve surrounding soils. This method results in foundation settlement control and greater bearing pressures for design. The RAP system is especially effective at reinforcing good to poor soils and is appropriate for sites with very soft to stiff clay and silt, organic silt and peat, loose to dense sand, mixed soil layers, uncontrolled fill, and soil below the ground-water table. With this system the bearing pressure is increased and settlement is controlled to parameters determined by the project’s design.

Dome Technology’s work with Geopier is a coordinated effort. “We provide them with the dome size and dome loads and some layout drawings so they know what they’re supporting; they design the Geopier to fit the loading and settlement criteria,” said Dome Technology engineering project manager Adam Aagard.

Another important player is a third party providing geotechnical analysis of the site. Findings are reported to Geopier so their team knows the type of soil present and how to best improve its load-bearing capabilities. If existing soils are stiff enough and the dome and load small enough, anticipated settlement may be acceptable, in which case a conventional shallow foundation may be selected. But “oftentimes, because of the size of the dome and very heavy loads, the anticipated settlement of the existing soils may be more than would be acceptable,” said Fran Miller, Geopier’s region engineer. In that case, RAP is seriously considered as a substitute for a deep foundation system.

RAP systems do not need to extend to either dense soil or rock; instead, they are designed to create an engineered crust that increases the composite strength of the existing soil beneath the dome base slab and shallow footings where stresses will be the highest.

To install the system either a 24 to 30 inch diameter cavity is drilled or a variable-diameter mandrel is driven into the ground, displacing the soil laterally to create a cavity. The cavity is filled with multiple thin layers of crushed rock vertically rammed until densely compacted; not only does this create a very dense stiff pier, but it also improves the soil strength of the soil surrounding the pier, yielding better foundation settlement control. Licensed Geopier contractors install the system, thus providing quality control, testing, and careful adherence to drawings and specifications.

The ideal configuration—whether with tighter spacing or deeper installation—is determined based on careful analysis of the site and what the dome’s storage allowances require. “We work closely with Dome Technology to provide the amount of settlement control necessary for the dome to perform as designed and yet not drive up the overall cost of the project by providing more settlement control than necessary,” Miller said.

According to Miller, an RAP system often results in 20 to 50 percent cost savings when compared to supporting a structure on a deep-foundation system, and the construction schedule is also reduced because installation happens so quickly. Another significant advantage for heavy structures like domes is the promise of reduced differential settlement. “These large structures can often tolerate several inches of total settlement, but differential settlement needs to be reduced to reasonable amounts so the structure can perform as designed,” she said.

A global leader in mechanical engineering and equipment supply for bulk-storage facilities, BRUKS is an important vendor for Dome Technology projects in the biofuel realm, with multiple projects utilizing BRUKS equipment in its project portfolio.

BRUKS maintains a focus on customizing equipment for the needs of each customer. The company has extensive experience with wood-related products, and in recent years they’ve expanded their scope to include equipment for most bulk materials.

For dome projects BRUKS has provided two major components, the first and most common being equipment used to deliver material to or from the dome, especially in the form of ship loaders and unloaders. For these projects, BRUKS completes the engineering for their systems, which requires a thorough understanding of the machinery and the bulk product in question, said Dome Technology sales manager Lane Roberts. Most recently BRUKS supplied the ship loader downstream from the dome at the Port Allen Drax project.

Performing engineering for their equipment is critical and lends itself to a high-quality product and function for customers.

“Unlike the average consumer product, the machines utilized in our projects are typically highly specialized—in other words, there are usually variables within each project that are unlike any others. This could relate to the type of material being handled, the environmental conditions present (or) the type of operations being performed,” said BRUKS vice president of sales and marketing Ken Upchurch. Variables like these require careful review and engineering know-how to install machinery and make sure it operates properly.

The second major BRUKS contribution for projects is stacker reclaim systems for coal and similar products. In the case of the stacker reclaim system, which requires a long lead time for production, customers frequently contact BRUKS before a bulk-storage solution or provider has been selected; BRUKS company executives often contact Dome Technology with details on the project, giving them a chance to contact the customer sooner, Roberts said. The opposite is also true; as a preferred vendor, Dome Technology contacts BRUKS for equipment needs when a relevant project is in the works.

“BRUKS fully understands the value of the product provided by Dome Technology, and we do everything we can to position their company with developing projects,” Upchurch said. “BRUKS and Dome Technology complement one another very well.”

Dome Technology has signed contracts with global commodities merchandizer and agricultural goods processor Louis Dreyfus Commodities on two major design-build projects.

The contract for the first project was awarded June 4, 2015, and work is already underway in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. At the outset the site will include one dome measuring 110 feet in diameter and 104 feet tall, capable of holding 11,500 metric tons of canola pellets. Project completion is anticipated for February 2016.

The second project will be constructed in Cahokia, Illinois, where a dome measuring 127 feet in diameter and 99 feet tall will hold 18,000 metric tons of grain. The contract was awarded September 2, 2015, and construction is set to begin mid-October and be complete around May 2016.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities selected Dome Technology after determining a concrete dome would be the best solution for its storage needs in both locations, said Louis Dreyfus Commodities project manager Ross McEllhiney. “This is our first time in using concrete domes for this type of storage, and Dome Technology was determined to be the most qualified for this application and location,” he said.

Dome Technology leadership hopes the Yorkton and Cahokia projects will be the first steps toward creating a long-term working relationship with Louis Dreyfus Commodities, Dome Technology sales manager James Stoker said.

“The biggest thing we’re excited about is starting a relationship with a company that’s worldwide and well known,” Stoker said. “Our goal is to become a preferred vendor. We want to not only provide the best storage solution, but also execute the best we can and provide a great product and project (to) satisfy the customer.”