Cover entire concrete floor with steel plate 2

[canwesteng]

A client wants to cover the floor (concrete, not yet constructed) of their entire workshop with steel plate. A previous consultants appears to have suggested to cast it in with the concrete, with nelson studs fastened to the underside of the plate. This seems first: very hard to execute for the poor guy lugging these around on wet concrete, and second: guaranteed to give voids below the plate. Now possibly with holes in the plate for vibrators, this could be done, although I imagine it being a headache trying to level the plate as you'll also be walking on it. My preferred method is casting in some plates with nelson studs and plug welding the floor plate to embedded plates. The client has suggested post installed anchors to fasten the plate, which seems like more work and will leave a bunch of anchors sticking up. Anyone have any experience with something similar, or comments on these methods?

 

[DrZoidberWoop]

I have never heard of anyone doing such a thing. Honestly, I'd be afraid to stand on it during a storm.

 

[epoxybot]

If what they are looking for is abrasion resistance, then they should be looking at Master Builder's: Anvil Top or Euclid Chemical's Super Eco-Top. These are cementitious toppings with iron filings. They are in paper mills and waste transfer stations, all over the US & Canada.

 

[canwesteng]

Client is adamant we are steel plating the floor. I'm just hoping I can talk them down to 1/4" plate from 1" plate.

 

[MIStructE_IRE]

Why?

 

[Enable]

Certainly a new one. The old consultant's recommendation might work if you use SCC and drill some relief holes in the plates (bashed out afterwards). Just need enough locations to get the pump line to. But yeah sounds easy to get messed up in a hurry.

I like a combination of your method and your client's proposal. Do post-installed rebar but keep it low and plug weld it to the plate. It'll be less cumbersome than trying to weld the plates to pre-installed anchorage points given the likely level of finish on the slab. Or hell, cast in the plates and if they work great! If not, do the rebar thing.

 

[canwesteng]

SCC might be quite the cost on this job, looking at a 450mm thick slab. Suppose we'd need chairs to sit the plate on to keep it level.

 

[azcats]

God I'm slow today...

 

[EdStainless]

I saw a plant that had one area covered in plate. They has set angle iron into the wet concrete and then welded the plates to those 'rails'. It is slick as heck when wet, and if you ever get oil on it then you need to blast it to clean it. The first time that they get a forklift 'stuck' because of no traction they will be very sorry.
A hard topcoat is a much better solution. There are the ones with iron in them and there are some with ceramic in them.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[phamENG]

If you want to do the post-installed anchors, use countersunk bolts. The Hilti Kwik Bolt 3 can be ordered with a countersunk head. Page 374 of their current catalog shows the different head configurations. I believe several expansion anchors are available with that kind of head. Special ordering the anchor shouldn't matter since you'll need a lot of them anyway. It'll mean more fabrication for the plates with the beveled holes, but hey....abnormal ideas call for abnormal solutions.

 

[dik]

Careful in reducing the thickness from 1" to 1/4"... you pick up liability at the clients savings... just venting it for the concrete would be an issue, as well as holding it in place.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[Tomfh]

I worked in a warehouse as a student. They put armour plating on some parts of the slab due to heavy forklift usage. The plates were fixed down with mechanical anchors. The anchors kept working themselves loose.

We’ve also had problems with bridge joints. These used cast in studs plug welded to the joint plate. The welds slowly fail over years due to pounding from trucks.

Like you say, there will be voids under the plates, and this causes a lot of upwards hammering on the anchors

You can do it but just keep in mind the connections can take a real beating…

 

[dold]

Could you cover the floor with epoxy and just...glue the surface plates down? Do the epoxy surface products have any sort of bondability(?) to steel? It'd probably have to be quite clean. Seems like that might be a little more durable than a mechanical anchor. Adhesive anchors might do a little better. Otherwise, I like the embeds + plug welds. Other than getting the embeds perfectly flush with the floor I think that'd be the way to go. They could even remove the plates later by mag-drilling out the plug welds perhaps. Rebar + plug welds isn't a bad idea either. Gives a little more leeway for tolerances since they'd be drilled through the holes in the plates after there on the floor.

I've done removable plates over trenches with the embed angles before. But nothing like what you've got here.

 

[HTURKAK]

We have a similar experience but we covered certain pathways having width 1600 mm. We applied on fresh screed .The plate was 6 mm checkered plate with short anchor studs . The fine revelling was performed to make flush.

For your case, i will suggest ;
- Pour the SOG and and fine level the surface, and wait for cure and hardenning,
- Install the steel plates with cement based ceramic tile adhesive ..

Pls provide mpre info, ( the reason for steel plating, size and thick. of plates, dimensions of the area, type of loading etc ) to get better responds..

 

[bones206]

There are a variety of internally threaded post-installed anchors on the market, which you could use to fasten the plates with countersunk machine screws.

There are also a variety of countersunk anchors available.

 

[JDV22]

Do post-installed rebar but keep it low and plug weld it to the plate

Is there any concern about driving all that heat into the concrete through the post installed rebar when you're welding it to the plate? I'd imagine it'd crack up the concrete at the anchor point.

 

[bones206]

I think anchors would also make level adjustment a little easier than a plug weld. With 1" thick steel plate over concrete, you will want all the adjustability you can get.

 

[phamENG]

Also, if you avoid casting in the weld plates, you leave an option open to come back and grind the floor smooth to meet whatever level spec you put in there for the plates to work. hard to do that with embed plates in the way.

 

[dik]

Can you just use an adhesive? Do you need to weld the edges?... maybe a 1/8" or 1/16" chamfer at the top edge and glue? A 1" plate is not going to move very much.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[canwesteng]

dik - I pick up liability one way or the other, at 1/4" or 1". Ultimately I'm responsible for the design. Don't need to weld the edges of the plate.

bones - good suggestion on internally threaded anchors, I will have to investigate how that would be installed.

A lot of comments about gluing the plates down. I imagine it won't be too bad with the tracked equipment on the floor, but rubber tired equipment I can see almost breaking loose against the steel, potentially putting big lateral loads into the plate. Perhaps that wouldn't really overcome friction for all the plates though.

For adjustment, I was thinking either just letting the plate flex, or putting down an elastomeric sub floor type of system that would help absorb a little bit of impact.