Projects / 4/28/2023

Docks logistics centre

Using structural polymer fibers has enabled the amount of steel reinforcement in the floor to be reduced.

Arquata Scrivia

Using structural polymer fibers has enabled the amount of steel reinforcement in the floor to be reduced.

A new floor installed with the technical support and solutions from Mapei Concrete Flooring Solutions (CFS)

Located at the crossroads between traffic networks running from the Liguria region (Western Italy) to Milan and from Turin to the other side of the Alps, as well as being the natural hub for the ports along the coast of Liguria (North-western Italy), the Docks integrated logistics centre in Arquata Scrivia is a support for traffic management operations for goods entering and exiting ports in Liguria.

The integration of ports, rail and road networks, inland intermodal hubs and other infrastructures is a decisive factor in the area’s competitiveness. Optimisation of the flow of vehicles will be further consolidated once the Terzo Valico (or Third Pass) high-speed railway has been completed, which will ensure that goods offloaded at the port of Genoa can reach the heart of Europe quickly, creating new logistics opportunities for this area.

Within the Docks centre in Arquata Scrivia, a new structure has been constructed that will be used to store tinned tuna. And within this area of around 13,000 m², a new floor was installed with the technical support and solutions from Mapei Concrete Flooring Solutions (CFS), the new line of products and services aimed at the industrial flooring sector.

The Mapei team took part in the design of the floor slab and in the prequalification phase of the concrete mix design – both at the mixing plant and by carrying out on-site testing, thanks also to the company’s mobile laboratories – and suggested the most suitable products for mixing the concrete and finishing off the floor.

Quick application and cost containment with structural fibers

The first working hypothesis for the floor in the structure considered embedding two layers of steel reinforcement within the concrete slab. The CFS team, on the other hand, proposed the use of synthetic fibers to strengthen the concrete, a choice which reduced the amount of steel reinforcement required.

Thanks to this solution, the finished 20 cm-thick floor only required one layer of 8 mm diameter, 200 x 200 mm steel mesh, which was positioned at the base of the slab.

To make the actual concrete mix (strength class C30/37), MAPEFIBRE ST 50 TWISTED structural polymer fibers were included in the mix: 50 mm in length, the fibers were added to the mix at a rate of 1.5 kg/m³.

The mix also included DYNAMON FLOOR 20, an acrylic-based super-plasticiser specifically designed for making concrete in hot weather.

This design choice led to the following advantages:

the concrete mix design was optimised, and concrete could be placed more efficiently using a laser screed machine, without resorting to pumps;
preparation of the steel mesh was much simpler and quicker and using less steel also helped contain costs;
the floor was completed more quickly (1,200 m²/day).

Hardeners for the final surfaces

The surface was then broadcast with MAPETOP N AR6, a pre-blended, ready to use shake hardener made of special well-graded quartz, Portland cement and special admixtures. This product, as with other hardeners from the CFS line, creates surfaces that are hard, smooth, compact and resistant to wear and atmospheric agents, freeze/thaw cycles and de-icing salts.

MAPECRETE LI HARDENER was chosen to finish off the floor, a surface treatment product in liquid form with a consolidating effect made from lithium silicate, which improves surface hardness and resistance to abrasion and reduces the amount of liquid penetrating into the floor.

The final operation was to seal the joints with MAPEFLEX PU 45 FT high modulus, rapid-hardening polyurethane sealant and adhesive.