PREDICTIONS OF THERMALLY INDUCED STRESSES IN THIN WALLED GRAIN STORAGE BINS UNDER DECLINING AMBIENT TEMPERATURES.

A generalized constitutive equation for cohesionless sands based on elasto-plastic theories is applied to a grain bin system. The validity of the theory is established through the finite element (FE) formulation by comparing the measured values and FE model predictions for static loads with and without surcharge. The model predictions and measured values compare favorably when no surcharge is applied; however, with surcharge the model predictions and measured values differ in trend. This difference is attributed to the simplifying assumptions for the boundary conditions in the model development. The thermal overpressure predictions under declining ambient temperatures from the FE model differ on the order of 11% from the mean measured values.