Agriculture
To support the safe and reliable production and storage of food, the agriculture industry depends on a wide range of concrete and steel infrastructure.
NDT Corporation provides testing and evaluation services for agricultural structures, including silos and food processing facilities. The data collected supports maintenance planning and rehabilitation efforts led by owners and engineering teams.
Common Structural Challenges in Agricultural Facilities
Unknown As-Built Conditions
Original construction drawings are often unavailable, and slip-form construction can result in non-uniform reinforcement placement. Using ground penetrating radar (GPR), our team can:
Locate reinforcement within slip-formed silo walls
Document reinforcement layout where drawings are unavailable
Identify embedded elements or structural features within silo walls
Confirm reinforcement configuration in roof and floor systems
Unknown Structural Dimensions
Original construction documentation for agricultural structures is often incomplete or unavailable, leaving uncertainty around wall thickness, slab thickness, structural dimensions, and concrete strength. Without this information, engineers may have limited ability to evaluate structural capacity or plan repairs. Using a variety of non-destructive testing methods, our team can:
Determining wall thickness
Verifying floor slab thickness in storage or processing areas
Confirming roof element thickness and structural dimensions
Estimating in-place concrete compressive strength
Corrosion and Durability Concerns
The use of heat, moisture, and processing chemicals associated with agricultural production can create conditions that are highly corrosive to reinforced concrete and steel elements. Using a variety of non-destructive testing methods, our team can:
Identify active corrosion in reinforced concrete elements
Determine areas of chloride or chemical exposure
Evaluate corrosion-related deterioration in processing environments
Identify delamination associated with corrosion expansion
Hidden Structural Defects and Repair Verification
The repeated filling and emptying of silos exposes walls and roofs to varying stress and loads, which may contribute to cracking, wall deterioration, or roof distress. Testing can also be used to verify the effectiveness of concrete repairs. Using impact echo and pulse velocity (IE/PV), our team can:
Identify internal cracking within silo walls or floors
Detect voids or internal deterioration caused by repeated loading cycles
Investigate silo roof distress or localized structural damage
Perform quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) testing to verify repair effectiveness
Related Projects
Experience You Can Rely On
Founded in 1994, NDT has built a reputation for delivering reliable data, practical insight, and responsive service on technically complex projects. Our team combines decades of field experience with advanced testing technologies to produce results that are clear, defensible, and actionable for engineers and owners.