The D5 Silo of Manganese of the Lampreana (Zamora): History, Construction Characteristics and Technology

Abstract

Spain’s National Network of Silos and Granaries building a total de 665 silos and 285 granaries. 20 different typologies of silos were built, highlighting type D over all of them with a total of 389 units. This typology prolonged its construction for 34 years, appearing several subtypes (D1, D2, D3 D4 y D5). The Manganese of the Lampreana silo (Zamora) is a D5 type silo with 3,350 t of storage capacity, distributed in 24 storage tanks called cells, built in 1968. Architecturally speaking it is a simple and powerful silo. It has a rectangular shape, made up of three rows of square cells, the outer rows of cells rested directly on the ground storey floor and the center row is raised. Front tower between two cells, being embedded between them in a central position, achieving a compact and robust volume. The structure is made up of reinforced concrete pillars at the corners of the cells and the cell walls of reinforce bricks. Technologically speaking it has many similarities with its predecessors, types A and B. Here the elevator receives the grain directly from the reception hopper raising wheat and emptying it onto an upper horizontal belt conveyor, where dampers motorized valves, it is distributed across other tubes to one of the three cells in each bay. The grain is unloaded onto lower horizontal belt conveyors lying at different heights. From there it is carried to a raised cell for bulk offloading onto a lorry.