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Prevent your water silo to burst or overflow

Building & installations

Minimize the risk of your silo bursting or overflowing by building it correctly and allowing for regular inspection.

Corrosion weakens the strength of the steel plates
A bursted water silo has a devastating effect. The cause is usually corrosion. The corrosion occurs on the inside and outside of the silo plates. On the inside it is a result of water leakage of the foil or due to groundwater intrusion. Unfortunately you cannot see this form of corrosion from the outside. Instead of a visual inspection from the inside you can use ultrasonic equipment to detect possible corrosion.

Silo inspection
Together with installers and producers of silos, Hagelunie developed guidelines to inspect a water silo. To carry out this inspection you need special ultrasonic equipment. In the Netherlands several installers have become specialized in this inspection. As a result silo inspections are now standard procedure in the Netherlands.

In other countries silo inspections are not standardized yet, although, several installers have indicated to be interested in carrying out these inspections. We are pleased to provide you with the guidelines and help the installer or yourself to carry out the inspection your water silo.  

What can you do yourself to prevent a sudden bursting of the silo?
It is difficult to inspect the silo from the inside, as it has to be empty. If there are no installers available who can carry out an inspection, you can take the following measures:

  • Check the floating parts of the silo twice a year: do they still operate well?
  • Do you see corrosion on the outside? Brown stripes of water on the outside usually indicate corrosion on the inside.
  • Check the inside of the silo by emptying the silo (minimum temperature 10 °C) and pull away the foil and blanket.
  • Is the foil stretched (does it not follow the curve of the plate)? This indicates shrinkage of the foil. Too much tension can lead to cracking. Relieve the foil by giving extra length on the upside of the silo.
  • If you replace the foil of the silo always replace the blanket too. 

If you want more information on this topic?
Ask our risk specialist for advice. See our contact page.