Project Scope: 3 DomeSilos, 3 Tunnels, Structural, Mechanical, Advanced Soil Analysis
Stored Product: Iron Ore Pellets
Stored Volume: 630,000 MT
Diameter: 248’-0" (75.6m)
Height: 124’-0" (37.8m)

Nucor Steel Louisiana, Inc. is constructing a new iron ore refinery in Convent, LA. The plant is being constructed near the Mississippi River, where it will receive iron ore pellets from ships. These pellets will be unloaded from the ships and transported to three DomeSilos for storage. Total storage capacity between the three domes is approximately 630,000 metric tons. The domes are fed by belt conveyor and filled through a vertical concrete stacking tube at the center of each dome to reduce fines dispersion and aid in the reclaiming process. Product is reclaimed from the domes via five in-floor steel hoppers and gates into a below-grade tunnel system and transported to the processing facility via belt conveyor. Because the soil on which the domes are being constructed is extremely poor, the domes are being designed to settle up to 6’-0” at the perimeter and up to 10’-0” at the center. This large amount of settlement requires ingenious design in the structural and mechanical systems to be able to accommodate this amount of movement and still maintain functionality. ES2 has run multiple finite element analyses on the soil-structure interaction to model the worst case settlements of the domes. All structural and mechanical items in the region of influence have been designed using out-of-the-box solutions to allow for this to be accomplished.