Factory Foundation in -50 Centigrade Environment

[KCRatnayake]

I got to design a foundation system for a Freezer warehouse where the temperature will be maintained at
-50C. Can you please provide me with some design guidelines? I am a structural engineer working in Sri Lanka.

Clefcon

 

[gerhardl]

I am no building engineer, but the main difference between a regular 'freezer warehouse' and the one you are describing is the greater temerature difference outside (sun) and inside (freezing)

Foundation must be strong enough to support a total construction (walls, roof, floor) able to bear/cover thicker or better insulation than 'normal'.

Special care to membranes/layers preventing condensation inside insulation.

Minus 50 deg. centigrade seems a lot, minus 25 to 40(?) perhaps more normal.

 

[civilperson]

Cold storage buildings are a special type. The soil under the foundation MUST be heated. Fortunately there is enormous waste heat available generated by the chilling process. The steel design must be simple span at change of temperature with double, triple or quadruple columns at change of temperature locations, (no penetration of insulation with steel). Polyurethane sandwich wall panels are the material of choice for the walls and rock wool insulation is preferred beneath the concrete floors. All doors and exits must be heated to melt frost accumulation.

 

[amorrison]

Another alternative is to have an insulated floor and a heated crawl space underneath. The floor insulation keeps the crawl space heat from becoming to much of a load on the cooling equipment.

Locally, 30 yrs ago, a freezer building (with no method of keeping the underfloor materials thawed) produced a 30 foot deep frozen blob of earth under the freezer room which by expansion on freezing produced a one foot vertical displacement of the floor and by columns the roof.

 

[amorrison]

Somewhat useful ?

http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/pubs/cbd/cbd026_e.html