Concrete Mix Design
There are many publications providing guidance on Concrete Mix design such as the recently updated ‘Good Concrete Guide 1’ written by the UK’s Association of Concrete Industrial Floor Contractors (ACIFC) and published by the UK’s Concrete Society is a good reference point.

Jointing Systems
It is recognised by organisations with large areas of industrial floor to maintain that their major floor problem is joint breakdown.

During the drying out process concrete will shrink. As a consequence of this phenomenon it is necessary to prevent random crack formation by forming joints at planned locations. The edge or arris of the concrete slab at the joint interface will degrade with use and passing traffic, if not protected. The use of a joint armouring system will prevent such degradation, prolong the life of the floor and minimise downtime and maintenance costs.

By virtue of the fact that joints occur, it is necessary to implement a system of load transfer from one slab to another. This is usually accomplished by means of dowels linking the slabs together. Without the load transfer system, each slab would act independently from one another. There are four load conditions that must be understood for each application, namely the bending capability of the dowel, the shearing capability of the dowel, the bearing condition through the dowel on to the concrete (in compression) and the bursting of the concrete (concrete in shear).

A well designed joint system must be capable of not only protecting the edge of the concrete slab but must also be capable of transferring loads from one slab to another with minimal deflection. The system must also achieve all of this without causing further weakening of the slab section.

Floor Surface Treatments
A concrete slab is in essence a wearing surface, as well as a load bearing surface. Whilst a power trowelled slab surface is perfectly acceptable, under certain circumstances it may be required to increase the wearing capabilities of the floor, improve the aesthetic appearance of the floor or suppress steel fibres that may have been used to reinforce the floor.

Dry-shake toppings are cementitious and aggregate based powder formulations that are applied to the wet concrete floor. The dry-shake topping is applied at a set rate to ensure even distribution and trowelled in to the slab surface. Bleed water from the concrete permeates the dry-shake resulting in a monolithic formation. Dry-shakes can be pigmented to provide a colourful floor with a finish that is remarkably more cost effective than any other floor finish. In addition to this many organisations are seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of their facilities and by choosing a light coloured Dry-shake topping a significantly enhanced reflectivity is provided thus reducing lighting level and cost.

To aid the curing of the concrete, resin based sealants are applied. Such sealants retard the moisture loss and evaporation, thus providing more effective curing of the floor.