Concrete floor hardener

[twinnell]

Does anyone have any experience with concrete floor hardener, metallic or non-metallic? Does it work? I am designing a slab for a dozer maintenance shop and there is going to be Cat D10's going across this slab with metal tracks. Should I use a hardener? Does it work? Is there something that would work better for my application?

 

[lkjh345]

Twinnell:

Floor hardeners work to a certain extent. They densify the top surface of concrete, and prevent small pits and tears that can quickly become larger due to abrasion across the surface. Shake on metalic hardeners increase the abrasion resistance of the top surface.

I'm not sure if anything is going work forever on a floor taking the kind of abuse your floor will.

I would talk to a sales rep from say L&M Chemicals (or others), they are pretty free to tell you all the wonderful things there products can do for you.

I would also consider using MM80 joint sealant at your control and contraction joints or reinforcing the slab enough to eliminate joints. MM80 will help suport the edges of joints and help prevent them from 'unraveling'. Joints are where a lot of the problems on these type of floors begin.

I once did a tank repair facility for the Army. I used hardeners, MM80 and the whole 9 yards on the slabs. Things were appearently OK for a few years until suddenly I got a letter stating that I had specified 'defective' floors. I went up to the facility to look at the floor. The slabs in a few of the bay were indeed in pretty bad shape. Many pits, gouges, spalling, etc. Come to find out the problem was if they couldn't get a tank into the bay under its own power, they hooked it up to a tank recovery vehicle and dragged it into the mainenance bay without the treads turning. Thats really good for the floor! LOL.

 

[jike]

For the abuse that the floor will see from the tracks, metallic floor hardener will probably not work but perhaps you will need something like "Anvil Top". Contact Master Builders for info.

 

[kenvlach]

For an ordinary concrete floor, say 4000 or 6000 psi, a clear penetrating (100% solids, 2-part) phenolic epoxy will help. It ~doubles the strength of the top 1/8" (penetration depends upon porosity) and lowers the friction (very slick if wet) if not top-coated. You can repair gouges, etc. by adding baked sand to the epoxy. I've used Phenoline 300 Primer from Carboline (although have only dealt with forklifts driving on it):
"Tough, abrasion resistant, reinforced film"

http://msds.carboline.com/website/c...34C47/$file/Phenoline+300+Primer+PDS+8-05.pdf

 

[hokie66]

You should look into using steel fibres in the concrete. This makes the concrete much tougher and resistant to abrasion. I would seek assistance with your specification from one of the steel fibre manufacturers, who should be able to provide you with references for industrial clients who have used this type floor.

 

[csd72]

As well as the above, use a good quality high strength concrete.

You need to be careful at your slab joints to prevent spalling there.

csd

 

[BSE05]

Watch out for metal shake hardeners they may show rusting.

Also make the Client aware of what to expect from this slab. It will most likely chip and spall no mater what you do.

 

[CTW]

Toppings and hardeners get expensive in a hurry (labor and materials). Plus, depending on the hardener, there can be very strict installation and curing requirements that cannot be met in every situation. If the owner is willing to accept that the slab will wear and crack, but still remain serviceable, then my suggestion would be to design it as a continuously reinforced slab using a minimum of 4000 psi concrete with mid-range water reducer and let it crack. The reinforcing will hold the cracks and construction joints tightly together and reduce spalling. This will be more cost effective than unreinforced with topping or hardener, then sawing joints and sealing joints.