Silo for bulk storage of large quantities of products at closely controlled humidity and temperature conditions throughout

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with the invention, there is provided an improved silo which can be built and operated at lower cost than silos of the Weibull type.
In the silo of the invention, at least the walls of the structure, and preferably the top in addition, have a monolithic structure including spaced air ducts comprising U-shaped channels held against the interior heat conducting wall of the silo by means of an overlayer of a cured- or foamed-in-place expanded plastic material which adhesively contacts both the channels and the wall of the silo and serves as the principal means of maintaining the integrity of the structure.
The ends of the channels are interconnected by suitable manifolds or plenums to provide any desired distribution system through which conditioned air can be passed on either a once-through or a recirculating basis.
Because the insulation is foamed-in-place, the necessity for handling large panels of preformed insulation is eliminated, as is the necessity for a frame to hold the insulation in place.
Further, the layer of insulation seals each of the individual ducts through which the conditioned air passes, thus eliminating the leakage of conditioned air which increased the operating cost of the prior art silos.