Meet the founder and president of DOMTEC International, Michael Hunter, builder of what the company says are the “world’s strongest bulk storage domes” at MINExpo. In these structures, an industrial-grade roofing membrane (DomeSkinTM) is fabricated into a hemisphere or in some cases, a hemisphere with a cylinder at the base, and attached to a circular, concrete ring beam foundation. Large inflator fans blow air into the DomeSkin. The dome is now a massive air-supported structure. Technicians apply 51 mm of polyurethane foam to the interior of the dome to add initial rigidity and eventually protect the product from temperature fluctuation. Rebar is attached to the foam in a grid pattern and sprayed with shotcrete, a flowable concrete under pressure.
Additional mats of rebar and layers of shotcrete are added until the thickness of the dome meets the engineered requirements.
The company explains that “acting like a vessel, a dome will hold product against the walls and roof, like a water bottle, at the same time supporting heavy conveyors, head houses and equipment on the apex.Insulated concrete bulk storage domes don’t just cover a pile, they contain the product.Other bulk storage buildings only cover a pile because they cannot support product high against the walls and roof. Containers don’t need as much real estate to build, gravity reclaim is more efficient and reclaim equipment and conveyors can be reduced in size saving a considerable amount of space and money.”
Advantages:
- Water and wind off pile -no leaching, erosion or fugitive dust
- Local labour and materials used to build dome -keeping money in the local economy
- Secure place to contain and store product
- 100% reclaim options available
- Heavy apex loading
- Quick construction time
- No corrosion to building
- Durable enough to last the life-cycle of the mine.