Ash Grove
Cement
The "Biggest Thing" in Durkee, Oregon
by Freda Grones, Reprinted from the Roundup, Spring 2000
As the saying goes: One thing leads to another-and sometimes to a new Monolithic Dome: The 1990s brought a welcome upswing to the economy of the Northwest. That led to a significant increase in the demand for cement, and, in turn, prompted Ash Grove Cement, a worldwide distributor, to intensify its cement production at its Durkee, Oregon plant. It also meant that the Durkee facility needed an additional structure in which to store those larger amounts of cement.
But before building anything, Ash Grove Cement began studying the options. Kaleo Nawahine, plant engineer and project manager of dome construction at the Durkee facility, said that their study compared two choices: a silo and a Monolithic Dome.
"The downside of the dome for us was its large footprint (diameter), but other than that, the overall economics definitely leaned toward a dome," Nawahine said. He explained that while the silo had a smaller diameter it required piling and extensive foundation work. But, despite its larger diameter, soil investigations indicated that a Monolithic Dome required neither pilings nor extensive foundation work. So, a Monolithic Dome, 145 feet by 92 « feet with a 45,000 ton capacity, could be built (and was) for approximately twenty-five percent less than a silo with similar storage capability.
Other factors influenced Ash Grove Cement's decision for a Monolithic Dome as well:
- A reputable builder, Dome Technology, Inc. of Idaho Falls, Idaho, who in 1998 constructed thirty-six bulk storage domes in various parts of the world, was available for Ash Grove Cement's expansion. Dome Technology became general contractor for the construction of the storage dome and its reclaim equipment.
- A Monolithic Dome could include a reclaim system, developed especially for concrete domes by Campbelt International Corp. of Salt Lake City, Utah, that retrieved nearly 100% of the stored material.
- A Monolithic Dome is virtually leak-proof. "That's really important," Nawahine said. "The structure has to be sealed. No rain or snow-no leaks. An opening allowing leaks will cause chunks to form and cause problems in the reclaim system."
- The construction of the Monolithic Dome could begin without waiting for warm weather. "We built during the winter," Nawahine said. "Most was done between November and February, and it was cold-below zero-and we had snow. But once the Airform was inflated, the weather had no impact. It went like a piece of cake. We were running into problems with other stuff we were doing outside, but construction inside the Airform went smoothly-a definite advantage."
In March 1999, the folks at Ash Grove Cement began filling their new Monolithic Dome with the increased amounts of the cement they quarried in Durkee, Oregon. Eventually, that stored cement is retrieved and poured into special bins that are then loaded onto trucks or rail cars for shipment to customers throughout the Northwest.
"It's all going very well," said Nawahine. He explained that Durkee is a "very small, rural town in the high desert of eastern Oregon," and that Ash Grove Cement is the "biggest thing there," and now it has a Monolithic Dome that "really looks good."
So, an old saying proved true once again: One thing does lead to another, and according to Nawahine this Monolithic Dome could very well lead to Monolithic Dome storage facilities at other Ash Grove Cement plants.
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