If you have not been out to Odessa, TX, then you are missing out on some of the large oil field structures. We love not only designing and analyzing loads and structure integrity, but also seeing things up close to understand the nuances of how equipment performs in the field.
To give you an idea of some of the scale, you can see some of our pics and the associated comments.
What impresses you about seeing engineering machinery or structures up close?
This is a sand terminal that receives sand from the rail, lifts it to the top of the structure with a bucket elevator, distributes the sand into a selected silo, then loads it into trucks. The sand is used primarily in the fracking industry. Our role was to design the distribution system.
You can see our scope of work from the drawing on the wall. Our stuff is in color.
The top of the silos is 90 feet in the air and the distribution system rises to 160 feet!
Major wind loads are present at that level and must be taken in consideration. Also, expansion joints are designed for the length changes that come with temperature differences.