Grain Bin Wall Height for a Target Capacity
The eave (wall) height a round bin needs to hold a target bushel capacity.
Example
You enter
- Target capacity (bushels) 12875.4
- Bin diameter (ft) 30
- Roof/peak cone height (ft, 0 = flat) 8
- Packing factor 1
You get
- Required eave (wall) height 20 ft
Details, formula, and sources
eave = (target_ft3/packing - roof_cone_ft3) / floor_area (1 ft^3 = 0.8036 bu). Storing 12,875 bu in a 30 ft bin with an 8 ft peaked fill needs a 20 ft wall; widen to 42 ft and the wall drops to about 8.9 ft, since capacity grows with the square of the diameter but only linearly with the wall. Answers 'how tall a bin' instead of the capacity of one. A geometric fill volume; the manufacturer's rated capacity and the structure govern.
floor_area = pi x (d/2)^2; cone = (1/3) x floor_area x peak; eave = (target_bushels/0.8036/packing - cone) / floor_area. The inverse of bushels = (floor_area x eave + cone) x packing x 0.8036.
Bin geometry first-principles; USDA FGIS standard bushel conversion by name.
Free at ams.usda.gov/services/grain-inspection.
Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
Field names used by the API: target_bushels, diameter_ft, peak_height_ft, packing_factor, eave_height_ft
- Bushel conversion 1 ft^3 = 0.8036 bushels (1 bushel = 1.2445 ft^3)USDA standard
- Geometry only the geometric fill volume; not a structural, aeration, or rated-capacity checkscope of this tile