Case Study: Spearpoint Engineering improves silo design validation with SimScale

Spearpoint Engineering Relies on Cloud-Based Simulation from SimScale

Spearpoint Engineering, a mechanical and structural consulting firm, needed to redesign upgraded wet spent grain silos for SAB Brewery in South Africa. The challenge was to assess corrosion-driven life expectancy and ensure the new silo design met requirements for strength, serviceability, buckling resistance, fatigue, and wind-induced vibration without relying on costly or lengthy physical testing.

Using SimScale’s cloud-based FEA platform, Spearpoint Engineering imported the silo CAD model, applied loads and boundary conditions, and ran linear static, nonlinear buckling, modal, and fatigue-related analyses. SimScale helped the team identify a critical corrosion-prone bottom segment, calculate the needed replacement thickness, and add stiffeners to reduce vortex shedding effects; in total, they completed 26 simulations with an average runtime of 20 minutes, giving them confidence in the upgraded silo design.

Spearpoint Engineering

Elias Zwane

Chief Engineer