Bulk Solids, Mining, Aggregates & Material Processing worked example

Silo Refill Frequency at 65% silo and feeder availability: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop silo and feeder availability to 65%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate silo refill frequency for silo refill frequency for bulk solids, mining, aggregates, and material processing using plant-floor material, production, quality, capacity, or cost inputs.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Tons discharged per silo draw-down cycle: 18 tons / cycle (held at the documented default)
  • Draw-down cycles available in the period: 240 cycles (held at the documented default)
  • Silo and feeder availability: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • First-pass yield of discharged material: 96 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross silo refill frequency = silo refill frequency output per cycle × available silo refill frequency cycles.
  • Silo Refill Frequency works out to 2,696 tons at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross silo refill frequency works out to 4,320 tons at these inputs.
  • Silo Refill Frequency uptime loss works out to 1,512 tons at these inputs.
  • Silo Refill Frequency yield loss works out to 112 tons at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where silo and feeder availability sits at 90% and the headline result is 3,732 tons, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 2,696 tons.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to silo and feeder availability, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes uptime and yield are independent and constant, so a silo with correlated feeder jams and quality excursions may deliver less than the model predicts.

Results at a glance

  • Silo Refill Frequency: 2,696 tons (headline result)
  • Gross silo refill frequency: 4,320 tons
  • Silo Refill Frequency uptime loss: 1,512 tons
  • Silo Refill Frequency yield loss: 112 tons

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Silo Refill Frequency calculator, set silo and feeder availability to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.