An elevator is most often called a mechanized silo-type granary. Among other things, such complexes include points of reception and loading of agricultural products. Elevators differ from ordinary warehouses and barns in that they are designed to store very large volumes of grain. The construction of such facilities should, of course, be carried out with the exact observance of the required technologies. The same applies to their repair and modernization.
Statistical data
To date, unfortunately, there is a catastrophic lack of grain storage capacities in Russia. According to studies conducted by the Federal State Statistics Service, the total capacity of elevators, warehouses and KKZ available in our country is about 118 million tons. Formally, this is more than required for storing the entire crop harvested in the fields of the Russian Federation. However, out of 118 tons of capacity, about 66 tons in Russia fall on the capacity of agricultural producers with obsolete design. In most cases, these are warehouses and barns built in the 50s of the last century. When using them as storage, up to 20% of the collected grain is lost.
Actually, the domestic industrial capacities themselves are very worn out (up to 70%). At the same time, Russian elevators are usually equipped with silo and bunker structures that do not meet modern technological and logistic requirements.
All this leads to significant losses in harvested crops and an increase in the cost of grain storage. Only modernization of elevators of the construction of the last century or the construction of new structures of this specialization can solve this problem in Russia.
Varieties of Industrial Storage
By appointment, all elevators can be classified into:
universal grain accepting;
production (usually equip near factories that produce cereals);
transshipment (located near the railway nodes or ports);
state, designed for the storage of grain reserves.
There are also specialized feed stores. In addition, today Russia has launched the production of small-capacity elevators designed specifically for small and medium-sized farms.
Other species
The main types of granaries were considered above. However, the concept of "elevator" has a broader meaning. Such systems can be used not only for storing agricultural products. For example, drilling elevators are hoisting equipment that is included in the equipment of towers, designed to hold casing pipes. Structurally, they are a massive case with a hole in the center. When they fail, serious accidents occur on the tower. Therefore, maintenance and repair of such drilling equipment should, of course, be carried out in a timely manner.
Another type of elevators are those used in heating systems. Designs of this type are designed to reduce the temperature of network water to a normal level. Elevators of heating are simple pumps that do not require external energy supply. Thanks to the special design, cold water mixes with hot water inside them.
The disadvantage of such equipment is mainly the inability to control the temperature of the coolant at the outlet. Therefore, today the heating system with the elevator is often modernized by incorporating the electric drive into the design. The latter is responsible for the movement of the cone-shaped needle, if necessary, blocking the nozzle of the device. Due to its presence, it becomes possible to adjust the amount of water passing through the body of the elevator.
Construction of granaries: features
Drilling and adjustable elevators are important structural elements of towers and heating systems. However, most often, by this concept, it is still understood as a granary. Therefore, we will further examine in detail how the construction, repair and modernization of such complexes is carried out.
Any grain elevator incorporates a silo working tower. Such a construction can be constructed from different materials. However, most often, brick or reinforced concrete is used for this purpose. The roof, windows and doors of the silos are arranged in such a way as to completely eliminate the possibility of moisture entering the storage. The floor is mandatory waterproofing to protect grain from groundwater.
A silo is always built on a slab foundation. At the same time, the floor of the first floor in the towers is buried by 80-250 cm. They do this primarily because of the need to link receiving devices and platforms of railway and road transport.
In addition to production facilities (control room, control panel, etc.), silos are arranged in the working towers. They are intended actually for storage of the grain itself. Most often, the construction of elevators involves the installation of 2-3 large silos. These structures can be made of metal or reinforced concrete.
In addition to silos, silos are mounted on elevators for grain dispensing. They differ from silos in that they have a bottom resembling an overturned pyramid.
Industrial Storage Equipment
The construction of elevators is entrusted to companies specializing in this type of activity. The same companies usually supply all the equipment necessary for a granary. In addition to silos and bins, the tower can be mounted, for example:
The movement of grain in the departments of the granary is carried out using elevators (elevators) and conveyors of various designs.
Elevator Operation Principle
The production process of any granary includes the following basic procedures:
At the elevator receiving point, the grain is pre-sorted according to several criteria (quality, degree of humidity or clogging, etc.). In a working tower, it is weighed, cleaned, dried and sent through a conveyor to storage. Shipment of grain from bunkers to railway wagons is usually done through lowering pipes or using special equipment.
Elevator Repair: Features
Since the equipment in granaries is in most cases used old, the organization of its maintenance and repair should be approached as responsibly as possible. Thus, it is possible, albeit slightly, but nevertheless to improve the quality of storage of agricultural products and minimize losses.
Most often, elevators have to carry out such types of repairs as:
Sealing interpanel joints of structures. Under the influence of negative environmental factors, the joints of storages and silos are gradually deformed and destroyed.
Cleaning silos and filling cracks in their walls. Structures of this purpose on elevators are constantly exposed to serious horizontal and vertical loads, which leads to the appearance of various kinds of defects. Cracks in the walls of silos are usually closed using cement-sand mortar. Silos can also be strengthened using the sleeve method.
Replacement of technological windows and elimination of inter-silo spills.
Restoring the bearing capacity of reinforced concrete structures.
Roof repair using mastic.
Repair of ventilation systems.
Painting of structures and equipment
Of course, it should always be dry inside the silos. The concrete surface is porous and can have many microcracks. In order to prevent an increase in air humidity inside the storages, their walls should be periodically painted. In this case, special crack-resistant paintwork materials must be used.
Of course, storages should not only be painted on elevators. The equipment installed in the premises should also be subjected to such processing: dryers, conveyors, elevators, etc. For the processing of such structures, silver is most often used.
Benefits of Upgrading
Repair, thus, allows you to slightly reduce the loss of grain at the elevator built last century. However, to make the production process as efficient as possible, of course, only by performing an operation such as the modernization of elevators and their reconstruction. As already mentioned, in most cases, the equipment and equipment available in the Russian Federation, granaries are obsolete. The advantages of modernization of elevators built in the last century can thus be considered:
improving the quality of grain storage;
increase in energy efficiency;
improvement in terms of environmental friendliness of grain storage;
the possibility of clear automatic control over the work of all departments, and, accordingly, a decrease in the number of employed workers.
Modernization of elevators in Russia: equipment replacement
A set of measures aimed at optimizing the operation of the old granary may include the following measures:
increase in drying power;
replacement of transport mechanisms with modern ones;
equipping with additional storage facilities and reception centers;
replacement of obsolete thermal equipment with a new one.
Also, the modernization of elevators often involves the elimination of various kinds of social problems. This may be, for example, a lack of lighting, dustiness, the presence of blockages of grain in the immediate vicinity of functioning equipment, etc. Sometimes, such reconstructed facilities are also performed at reconstructed granaries.
The need for modernization of thermometry systems
Equipment of this type is one of the main at elevators. It is from his uninterrupted work that the preservation of agricultural products to a large extent depends. The fact is that with grain in bins very often there is such a negative phenomenon as self-heating due to excessive humidity.
If the permissible temperature in the strata is exceeded, measures to save agricultural products should be taken immediately. Unfortunately, in most cases, elevator thermometry systems are by now also obsolete and require replacement or improvement.
Features of the modernization of the control system
Reconstruction of equipment of this type already available in the granary usually allows you to:
quickly obtain accurate temperature information in different layers of the stored mass;
easily and quickly analyze all the data obtained;
keep archives of measurements.
Modernization of elevators involves the organization of control systems of various types. For example, thermometric equipment based on analog sensors is very popular. In the process of introducing the latter, among other things, the use of previous generation suspensions already available on the elevator is allowed.
Sometimes the granary control system is supplemented by digital sensors that are insensitive to interference. In any case, with a lack of funds, the modernization and automation of thermometric equipment can be carried out in stages without the need for changes to the production process.