Above ground sand storage tank/bin/hopper, need design guidance

[mdmiller]

I have an above ground tank/hopper/bin (whatever you want to call it) that is to store sand. The rectangular tank will be elevated off the ground on a steel support frame, the walls of the tank will be thin steel plate. The tank is NOT a cylinder or sphere and is not pressurized. The shape is rectangular with a funnel at the bottom that is also flat plate tapered to a small opening.

I need help in determining the pressures the sand exerts on the walls and how to properly analyze the thin walls. What references are out there for this type of design?

I can determine the Dead, Live, Wind, and Seismic Loads. The only analysis software I have available is RISA 3-D.

Thank You!!!
I'm a Structural Engineer, but typically work in building design

 

[sundale]

There are two (rather old) books that have info on such things:

Design of Welded Structures by Blodgett
Tubular Steel Structures by Troitsky

Both are available for cheap at Lincoln Welding I believe. You can do a reasonable hand analysis without getting into FEA.

 

[kslee1000]

At top, assume the bin is over filled with a slope equal to its phi angle, and at the bottom of the funnel, the outlet is closed. Check wall/slab pressure using at rest (rogid wall), or active (flexible wall) earth pressure. You may want to ensure the free draining of water, so you don't need to include hydrostatic pressure, but use moist, or saturated soil weight.