We manufacture machines that had mineral aggregates storage. It is a silo with rectangular section (6x2.5 m typical) but it has divisions (some pockets of 0.4x2.5 and others of 2.5x2.5 or 1.5x2.5). In the vertical section there is no problem in estimating the loads. The problem is in the 'hopper' sections because we have the openings in one section of 2.5x2.5, so the walls have to incline for changing from 6x2.5 to 2.5x2.5 so we have not the typical hopper in which two converging walls reduces the section to the opening size. We have to walls nearly parallel. We can see it in the following sketch

The question is how to estimate the loads in these sections?. In a very conservative way, can we use vertical load expresions and to compone the forces in the directions normal and parallel to the inclined walls? To use the expresions as it were conventional hoppers? Just in the case of the big pocket, there is a lot of cases in which the angle of the wall is different from one side to other, how can we estimate the loads?

We need only to estimate loads because in our machines all the structures are quite oversized, but it would be a progress to advance in the understanding of these structures. ■