Abstract
In real applications, 28 days are regarded as proper curing time for concrete. There is a self-evident need to minimize the duration of curing days. For this purpose, this research investigates 1 to 7 days of curing and compares it with concrete cured for 28 days. Three grades of normal concrete strength grade 30, grade 35 and grade 40 were made. After curing, two exposure conditions were applied to the concrete, inside laboratory-controlled environment and outside environment. Results indicate that slump increases with cement content in DOE method at constant water content. The concrete density in all grades reduces when the concrete is subject to inside exposure in comparison with outside exposure. Water loss from concrete reduces with increase in curing days in all concrete grades. Compression strength of all concrete grades increases with increase in curing days. For the uniformity of concrete, ultrasonic pulse velocity indicated that with an increase in curing days, concrete becomes denser and a bit void. Results showed that an increase in curing days also improves the surface quality of concrete. The significance point noticed is that there was not much difference in the concrete properties between 7 days of curing and 28 days of curing in all grades.
Highlights
Concrete is one of the major constituents in the construction field
It was observed that the increase of cement content at constant water-cement ratio increases the workability of concrete because of the total aggregate content decrease in DOE method
This research concludes that slump of concrete increases in DOE method, when cement increases at constant water content and total aggregate content reduces for all grades of normal strength concrete
Summary
Concrete is one of the major constituents in the construction field. Curing of concrete is an important factor in getting required properties such as strength and durability. Curing is of major importance, especially in the early stages of concrete to enhance the process of hydration of cement, control its temperature and moisture movement in and from concrete. The main reason of curing in early ages is to prevent the loss of water from the concrete, so that it can gain strength in its early days [1, 2]. Concrete hydration starts when water contacts with cement causing chemical reactions and increasing the concrete’s temperature [4]. At construction sites, concrete structures are usually exposed to dry conditions from an early stage. In real life practice, in countries where temperature is high and relative humidity is low, concrete is subject to major water loss from the exposed surfaces [12]. Improper curing of concrete occurs almost everywhere but especially it occurs on vertical members, inclined members, areas where water is in low quantity or not accessible for continuous curing [13,14,15] and where curing cannot be properly supervised [10]
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