Concrete barrier for storage of granular material

[CANeng11]

We have some concrete barriers at one of our warehouses that were purchased about 8-10 years ago. The concrete barriers are movable and are used to separate the different granular materials in the warehouse. How would one go about doing a calculation to determine whether these barriers are strong enough to hold back a pile of this granular material. The barriers are an upside down T-shape and I know the properties of the granular material (angle of repose, density, etc.)

 

[CANeng11]

Is there anyway to check whether the barriers are structurally capable of handling the load. Or do we have insufficient information about these material to do the calculation?

 

[jayrod12]

You could check them as if they were plain concrete (i.e. no reinforcement) but they're unlikely to work given their dimensions.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

If jayrod12's suggestion does not give acceptable results, here are three ways to at least get an idea of the barrier's suitability:

1. You mentioned that the barriers were purchased 8 to 10 years ago... not too old. Any chance you can find where they came from and the manufacturer's specs?

2. Have a testing lab use a Rebar Locator to see what is inside. Make appropriate calculations based on minimal sized rebar.

3. The product is light (57 lb/ft³). Set up 2 lines of barriers and fill the space between them with a common, heavier material (say sand). See what happens. If the barriers don't fail, you now have an "ultimate strength". Back figure what loading is acceptable.

Not the best answers, but better than doing nothing.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[robyengIT]

SRE : calculation procedure unknown in Italy. I could not find in any of my book. Furthermore, in a note, I found suggested as "not to be used".
Thanks : very easy to use for rough calculation. Regards