INDUSTRIAL CONCRETE FLOORING

Ground concrete is generally used in many industrial and commercial building. There are ground concretes in non-industrial buildings. Some problems may be occurred unless the ground concretes are designed on the right principles.

The facilities which are primarily flashed about the industrial ground concretes are cargo handling areas, factories, warehouses and storages, airports, gas stations and pariking lots. The examples can be diversified, but the main point is that the common feature of all is the exposure of them with heavy and changeable traffic burdens. The most important problems which are faced by the users are surface defects, cracks, fitting issues, and dust on the surface. As the later interventions paralyze the general process in the facilities, they cause serious time and money waste.

Design principles of ground concrete:

·           Resistance,

·           Aim of the usage,

·           Feature of the concrete,

·           Feature of the surface,

·           Cracks and grouts.

The most important feature that seperates the ground concretes from the building elements is that they are used for different aims. However, for instance, the roof has the same function for every building element.

The questions on which we think that they are required to be answered:

·           How will the ground be used?

·           What is the type and dimension of the expected ground force?

·           What is the degree of the visual importance? What is the acceptability of possible cracks?

·           Does the way of ground usage attract the way of concrete pouring?

·           Will any flooring or protective layer used?

Industrial ground concretes create some problems due to the failures made during the application.

The following items which affect the success of ground concretes should be considered:

·           Uniformity of subbase and the fitness for the carriage capacity,

The plates which sit on the ground transfer the forces to the ground. Therefore the amendment and compression operations should be finically handled in both project designing and application phases. Those failures which may occure will cause cleavage, break and/or sitting.

·           The quality of the concrete,

·           The capacity fitness of force carriage,

·           the smoothness of the surface,

·           the condition of the reinforcement, force transfer in the grouts,

If the concrete will be poured with the usage of steel mesh, here the main point is keep the steel mesh right and smooth within the concrete. And this is possible with the trestle work. If the steel mesh is curled within the concrete, the mesh will not take the tensile forces and the concrete will cracked.

The interest and demand on steel fiber grout beside the steel mesh or the steel reinforcement are increased. Homogeneity, easiness in application, causing less possible failure in the applications and working in every side are the important advantages of the steel fiber grouts. The ability of the steel fiber grouts in working in every side provides a decrease in shrinkage cracks and makes it preferable in those places in which the temperature variation is so dense.

·           The types and width of the grouts,

The grouts are the vertical gaps estimated within the continuity of the ground. Unestimated gaps are the cracks. The grouts are necessary in the plates which sits on the ground, however the grouts creates many problems for the users.

There are basically two aims of the grouts:

·           To facilitate the manufacture;

·           To reduce the tensions which will cause some cleavages.

The classification of the grouts according to their missions:

·           Isolation grouts: As it separates the ferro-concrete plate from the other building element, isolation grout reduces the possible tensions and allows the covering freely.

·           Construction (production or work) grouts: Construction grout is the one which forms between the concretes poured in various times. They are produced to facilitate the pouring conrete; however they also play a role in reducing the possible tensions.

·           Expansion grouts: They the gaps left for the expansion of concrete due to the effect of temperature. They are mostly used in the concretes of roads and airports. They are not required in the other industrial ground concrete applications.

·           Shrinkage grouts,

·           Grouts of curling,

The experience of the team which makes the application,

Slab bottom processes (vapor cutters, capillary inhibitor for the rise of water),

Moisture content of concrete and drying speed,

Cure, surface operations, flooring,

Maintenance and repair.

Photos from Application Phases

Scattering surface hardener after tray polishing.

Feeding surface hardener and fine polishing.

A concrete surface whose fine polishing has been finished.