Swine House Floor Durability Enhancement Using Pozzolan-Containing Concrete Mix Designs

Abstract

HighlightsThe CSF-FA floors performed better than the non-CFH and CFH floors, especially under spallation conditions. It thus makes economic sense for small- and industrial-scale swine farms to switch to CSF-FA floors due to longer durability and better investment return, in comparison with non-CFH and CFH floors.The statistical analysis indicated that the pozzolanic materials significantly improved the performance metrics of concrete mix designs (p<0.05), compared with the conventional non-CFH mix (control).The research findings are expected to be beneficial for civil engineers in the construction of concrete structures that are prone to acid corrosion or in areas with acidic soil.ABSTRACT. This research investigates the effect of pozzolanic materials on the performance of swine house concrete floor. The experimental pozzolans are fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF), and the performance metrics are compressive strength, abrasion resistance, and resistance to lactic and sulfuric acids. There are nine experimental concrete mix designs: concrete without floor hardener (conventional concrete or non-CFH), concrete with floor hardener (CFH), concrete with 15%, 30%, 45% fly ash, and concrete with silica fume and fly ash (CSF4FA26, CSF6FA24, CSF8FA22, CSF10FA20). In acid resistance tests, a groove was cut across the specimen surface to simulate floor spallation. The results showed that the CFH floor had the highest abrasion and acid resistance but suffered from severe acid damage under spallation conditions. Meanwhile, the CSF10FA20 floor had the highest compressive strength and acid resistance under spallation conditions. The statistical analysis indicated that the pozzolanic materials significantly improved the performance metrics of concrete mix designs (p<0.05), compared with the non-CFH mix design (control). The construction costs of CSF-FA floors (THB 118 – 121) and non-CFH floor (THB 116) were comparable, but they were considerably lower than that of CFH floor (THB 196). The acid resistance of CSF-FA floors was higher than that of non-CFH and CFH floors. As a result, the CSF-FA concrete mix designs should be adopted for the construction of swine house floor due to longer durability and better investment return, in comparison with non-CFH and CFH floors which are commonly used in small- and industrial-scale swine farms. Keywords: Acid resistance, Concrete material, Durability, Farm buildings, Swine flooring.