Asphalt floors, an alternative for forage silos? A comparison of concrete, asphalt concrete and mastic asphalt.
1999
Van Caenegem, L. | Jakob, R. | Schmidlin, A. (Eidgenoessische Forschungsanstalt fuer Agrarwirtschaft und Landtechnik (FAT), Taenikon (Switzerland)) | Weydert, M. (Faculte universitaire des sciences agronomiques, section Genie rural, Gembloux (Switzerland))
Concrete floors of horizontal silos and tower silos are heavily attacked by silage juice. Tests carried out at the FAT have shown that the resistance to silage juice depends strongly on the type of aggregates used (sand or gravel). Purely crystalline aggregates (such as granite) are significantly more resistant than limestone aggregates. Contrary to expectations, the type of cement plays only a minor role. Containing less free lime than Portland cement, alternative cements can hardly improve the durability of concrete. The same applies to additives such as dispersion agents. Asphalt constitutes an interesting alternative to concrete. Not only are asphalt con-crete and mastic asphalt less susceptible to the attacks of silage juice than concrete, but also can their surfacing be more easily reconstructed at a later date. The durability depends mainly on the bitumen content. If the surfacing is laid down according to the state of the art, it is guaranteed impermeable to water with asphalt concrete as well as with mastic asphalt. According to investigations carried out at the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), silage in contact with asphalt is without adverse effect from a physiological point of view.
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