Drainage of a Process module in a Chemical plant setting

[Armar007]

Hello all,
In one of the project specs I am working on, the bottom most floor of the process module is required to be solid to capture potentially contaminated rain-water. The module is huge (150'x300'). I am used to using concrete at the base floor and to be installed on site after the module is in-place. However, I am trying alternatives to concrete so that it could be assembled in the module shop. Checkered plates is too flimsy for the forklift traffic. Using something like Steel road plate may be an option but to slope it seems challenging. It would require lots of shims. Has anyone actually used these kind of steel plates for a real life module? If you have, some additional details would help. If there are any other alternatives to concrete or steel, please do share. Thanks a lot in advance!!
-A

 

[bones206]

Fabricating and welding thick steel plates in the shop sounds a lot more expensive and problematic than placing concrete in the field. Especially if it is required to be sloped and watertight. In my experience with modular construction, just because something can be built in the shop doesn't necessarily make it more efficient or constructable than the traditional field-constructed alternative. IMO, welding, fit up, tolerances, corrosion etc. will all pose challenges and create more headaches than just pouring a sloped concrete base. I can't think of a material that would be better suited for your module base than cast-in-place concrete.

This might be a stretch, but perhaps you could engineer some sort of lightweight CIP concrete base (maybe utilizing EPS foam and lightweight concrete in some kind of sandwich configuration?) that can be integrated with the module in the shop and could survive shipping/rigging loads and forklift traffic.

 

[bones206]

Another outside the box idea: Install and engineered compacted base material at the site. Cover with an appropriate sheet liner with drainage. Cover the liner with an industrial flooring mat system like Matrax.

 

[Armar007]

Thanks bones206 for your feedback. In my opinion also cast in place concrete is the way to go. But the CM is being anal about "moving field hours to shop".

 

[rb1957]

how reliable does this have to be ?
1) absolutely ... leakage is intolerable, or
2) highly reliable ... a small amount of leakage is possible by highly undesirable, or
3) not reliable ... this is a nice to have, and collecting most of the rain water run-off is acceptable.

This will guide you to how complicated the liner/base will have to be.

How will sunlight affect it ? How to prevent settlement (or other) cracks developing ??

Already you're talking about driving trucks and such over it.

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?