Vulnerability Analysis of Column-Supported Reinforced Concrete Silo Structures

Under earthquake action, concrete silos can undergo damage over a vast area or may even collapse. To aid seismic design, a numerical simulation of the seismic performance of column-supported reinforced concrete silos was performed, and the performance was quantitatively described. The focus of the research was on determining the damage levels of these silos by adopting an incremental dynamic analysis. The focus of the research was on determining the damage levels of these silos by adopting an incremental dynamic analysis. Four limit states were defined for the first time so as to better determine the damage states of column-supported reinforced concrete silos in the event of earthquakes and the vulnerability analysis of the silo structures was carried out. The analysis results show that volume of the stored grain directly determined its damage behavior. The silo with a greater amount of stored grain entered the plastic state earlier, and the damage effect was more evident. Under the most dangerous working conditions, i.e., the full state of the silo, the 50-year collapse exceedance probability of the silo reaching collapse (LS4) was less than 1% of the 50-year failure risk limit defined in the US seismic design code FEMA P750. This demonstrated that a column-supported reinforced concrete silo can maintain its high anti-collapse reserve capacity under the effect of rare earthquakes.