Preventing Frost heaving damage in cold storage pavement.

[MonsieurR]

Hello everyone,

All the cold storage building projects I have seen (-20°C) have either some sort of ventilated slab or some floor heating system to prevent frost heaving. This has been done this way for at least 20 years around here, in cold storage buildings. To me this seems as a very expensive solution for the apparently simple problem of putting a fridge over a slab.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/v3630e/v3630e08.htm

https://www.daliform.com/fr/iglu-vespaio-aerato/iglu-applications/celle-frigorifere/

Does anyone know other solutions available?

Does anyone know why aren't other solutions being used? Such as Penetron, deceing chemicals, low w/cm, appropriate air entrainment, etc.

Kind regards.

 

[Canuck65]

It has to do with frost heave of the soil beneath the concrete slab, not the concrete slab itself. Ideas such as Penetron, deicing chemicals, low w/cm ratio, and air are related to the concrete and will do nothing to prevent frost heave of the soil beneath.

 

[dik]

Long term cold storage will force the frost down beneath the building... insulation by itself will not help. You need to 'duct' the heat from the cooling process beneath the slab to prevent the soil from freezing.

Dik

 

[BridgeSmith]

I would think the more energy-efficient solution would have a solid slab, a layer of insulating material (geofoam blocks?), with a ventilated support layer below that, warmed by the waste heat produced (as Dik said, insulation will not prevent the soil from eventually freezing). Could be they the energy they waste with the ventilated slab systems doesn't cost all that much more.