01-04-2025

Dust explosion safety: the importance of explosion panels in storage silos

When storing bulk goods and dust explosion hazardous products, safety always comes first. Effective explosion panels are an essential safety feature for any industrial silo. In this blog, we explain why explosion panels are crucial, what the advantage is of domed silo roofs, and how this combination maximizes safety.

Explosion panels: essential protection against dust explosions

Explosion panels are advanced safety devices specifically designed to discharge built-up pressure in a controlled and safe manner during a dust explosion in a silo. The function of these panels is crucial:

• They limit or prevent serious damage to the silo
• They protect surrounding infrastructure and equipment
• They minimize the risk of fire and personal injury
• They prevent a primary explosion from leading to a chain reaction

Domed silo roofs: superior dust explosion safety

Polem produces silo roofs in a standard domed klöpperboden shape. This design offers significant safety advantages over the "chinese hat" shape often used in conventional metal silos:

1. Increased pressure resistance

Thanks to the optimally designed domed shape, the silo roofs can withstand a p-red of 1.0 bar. This technical advantage is essential for silos in which dust explosion hazardous products are stored. In comparison: metal silos typically withstand a p-red of only 0.5 bar maximum.

2. More efficient placement of explosion panels

The increased p-red value means that less surface area is needed for pressure relief. For composite silos, this means that all required explosion panels can be fully integrated into the roof, while metal constructions often need wall panels as well.

Three concrete benefits for your operations

This technical advantage translates into direct operational benefits:

• Maximum storage capacity: You can utilize the full capacity of the silo without having to account for a maximum fill level below wall explosion panels. This maximizes your storage efficiency and reduces the cost per ton of stored product.
• Improved hygiene: The design without flanges in the wall eliminates potential problem zones where product can accumulate. This significantly reduces the risks of mold formation, product spoilage, and bacterial growth – crucial for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
• More compact construction height: Unlike metal silos, which often need to be built higher to accommodate wall explosion panels, composite silos with roof-integrated panels allow for a lower construction height – an advantage when applying for permits or in buildings with height restrictions.

Professional installation for optimal safety

For maximum protection, explosion panels are always installed flush (completely flat) with the inside of the roof. This seamless integration ensures that in the event of a dust explosion, the built-up pressure can escape immediately and with minimal resistance.

As standard, these safety systems are equipped with robust safety railings. This essential addition prevents maintenance personnel from inadvertently standing on the vulnerable panels during inspection or maintenance operations.

Specialized indoor installations

For silos placed inside a building, additional safety requirements apply. In these situations, specially designed vent ducts are required. For these indoor installations, the explosion panels are always constructed in a round shape.

This round shape is not an aesthetic choice but a technical necessity: rectangular or square explosion ducts must be extremely heavy-duty to guarantee the required pressure resistance, which is costly and often practically unfeasible.

Responsibility and expertise

According to legislation, it is the responsibility of the client to determine whether the stored product is dust explosion hazardous and whether the silo should be equipped with appropriate explosion panels. Polem's market specialists are ready to advise on this and develop a safety solution that perfectly fits your specific situation.

Every grain, every drop. Quality in, quality out.