Effects of environment and curing methods on the compressive strength of silica fume high-strength concrete

Abstract

The adoption of good workmanship and a steady increase in concrete production quality control is being experienced in the Gulf region. This advancement covers all aspects of the concrete industry, from mixing to curing. The study presented here contains the results of an investigation of various concrete curing methods used recently in the region. Specifically, the study investigates the influences of the environment and curing methods on the compressive strength of silica fume high-strength concrete. Specimens were kept at five different curing conditions and in two different environments for a period of 9 months. The curing conditions used were water curing (control), no curing (NC), sprinkle curing (SC), plastic curing (PC) and burlap curing (BC). Eeach of the last four conditions was exposed to two different environments: indoor (ID) environment and outdoor (OD) environment. The strength results were determined at 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 270 days. The results reveal that the effects of the curing methods on the compressive strength of the specimens are highly influenced by the exposure conditions, and the different curing schemes have varying effects on the compressive strength of the specimens. This suggests that careful and more efficient curing practices and techniques are required when curing concrete in the hot dry environments such as in the climate of the Gulf region.