services
materials handling (including Silos)
Prostruc provides materials handling and silo design and certification for both new and existing plants and facilities. Typical clients retain our services to provide continuity and retain knowledge of their plants.
Prostruc enjoys with equal relish the challenges brought about by establishment of new plants and finding ways to adapt existing plants for changed circumstances. A significant part of our business includes adjustments within existing plants e.g. relocation and extension of conveyors, access changes, changes to pneumatic pumping systems & pipelines, silo upgrades and reporting and recommending on failed or mal-functioning equipment.
Our recent award winning Silo A Upgrade for Melbourne Cement Facilities (MCF) warrants a brief description of the works carried out. Silo A is a 55m high silo, 30m diameter with a 2m access door. The original mechanical screw extraction system had passed its use-by date and had a poor rate of retrieval. Using only the 2m door for access, the challenge for Prostruc was to determine a construction methodology (then design and project manage) to upgrade the mechanical system to an airslide system. Prostruc worked with MCF and Claudius Peters to build the new system which incorporated a 10m cone, new sloping floor and 10 radial, tapering tunnels. Air slides covered the entire new floor and fed product into and along the tunnels and into the cone via a staged aeration system. Eccentric silo loads, inward and outward pressure differentials and loads to the existing structure were issues Prostruc needed to take into account. A retrieval in excess of 99% was achieved and the silo's original 40 000T capacity was reduced by less than 10%.