Choosing A Storage Silo: Lipp Silo Vs Concrete Silo

Storage silo, a storage tool for bulk materials, is widely applied in various industries, such as the cement industry, chemical industry, grain industry, coal industry, etc. The reinforced concrete silo and Lipp silo are two widely used silos on market. They all perform well in the field of material storing. The application of reinforced concrete silos is early. It has mature design and construction technology. While with the development of silo construction technology and the emergence of new silos, it is gradually replaced. However, because of its long service life and good airtightness, it is still favored by some customers. Lipp silo, also called spiral steel silo, is a thin-walled steel silo. It features lightweight, short period, and detachable, which is the best choice for material storage now. How should we choose between the two silos? And which one is better?

Data	Lipp Silo	Concrete Silo
Sealing Performance	Good airtightness, can store liquid	Good airtightness
Service Life	More than 20 years	More than 50 years
Construction Method	Mechanized operations	Slip-form construction
Maintenance Work	Regular maintenance	Maintenance free
Appearance	Well-done	Common
Meteorological Requirements	Not affected by weather	Affected by weather
Environmental Requirements	Small requirement	Large requirement

The Comparison of Construction

Construction Material　
The reinforced concrete silo is made of steel, cement, sand, and stone. It is sturdy and durable, but with heavy weight, and has higher requirements for the foundation.
The Lipp silo adopts galvanized coil plates with the specification of 2.0 - 4.0 mm. It has lightweight and low requirements for the foundation.

Construction Method　
The reinforced concrete silo is constructed by a slip-form method with cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure on the wall and cast-in-place reinforced concrete conical shell structure on the roof. It has excellent performance on anti-corrosion, windproof, rainproof, and anti-seismic.
During the construction process, some coil plates are bent and bitten through an undercutting machine to form a 30-40mm wide continuous helical convex rib outside the silo wall. In this way, the rolled coil plate spirally rises to form the sidewall of the Lipp silo.  Besides, the Lipp silo also adopts vertical welded stiffeners inside the wall. This structure enhances the bearing capacity, overall strength, and stability, but it is still not as good as the reinforced concrete silo in terms of bearing pressure.
Construction Period
Because the construction method of silo foundation and silo body is simple, there is no need for setting time when building a Lipp silo. Its construction period is relatively short, which is 1 / 4 - 1 / 3 of the concrete silo with the same capacity.
Construction Height　
The height of Lipp silo is limited by its bearing capacity. At present, the maximum height of the Lipp silo is 38.5m. The height of a concrete silo can be more than 40 m.
 

The Comparison of Application

Range of Application
Lipp silo is made of metal materials, which is simple to construct and easy to upgrade. It is available to store a wide range of bulk materials, such as granular material, powdery material, and liquid materials. While the variety of materials stored in the concrete silo is single so its application range is small.

Service Life　
The service life of reinforced concrete silo is generally more than 50 years, and its annual maintenance cost is low. Lipp silos can only be used for about 30 years. Meanwhile, its maintenance cost is higher than the concrete silo. If we adopt the building material with strong anti-corrosion performance, the working life of Lipp silo will be prolonged.

The Comparison of Safety Performance

Construction Safety　
The two silos both adopt modern construction methods and mechanized operation. Their construction technology is high and safe.
Use Safety　
Both Lipp silo and concrete silo need to pay attention to safety issues. According to statistics, there are more dust explosion accidents occurred in reinforced concrete silos. Lipp silos are easy to realize explosion venting, having a good explosion-proof performance. Because most of the explosion accidents are caused by improper operation, the dust and explosion-proof problems should be highly valued in the silo operation process.

The Comparison of Profits

Compared with concrete silo, Lipp silo has the characteristics of short construction period and low investment cost. The total investment of a concrete silo with the same capacity is 20% ~ 50% higher than that of Lipp silo.

Data	Lipp Silo	Concrete Silo
Quantity	One	One
Diameter (m)	15	15
Height (m)	18	18
Volume (m3)	3179	3179
Wall Thickness (mm)	4	4
Construction Cost (RMB)	1400000	1850000

Conclusion

In conclusion, Lipp silo is more economical and practical. At the same time, it has a beautiful appearance, excellent construction, and short construction period. If you are short of funds and need to use silo in the short term, you can choose Lipp silo. Reinforced concrete silo also has many advantages, including long service life, low maintenance cost, etc. If your funds and time are sufficient, concrete silo is a good choice.