Efficiency of Sodium Polyacrylate to Improve Durability of Concrete under Adverse Curing Condition

Tanvir Manzur,Munaz Ahmed Noor,Shohana Iffat

doi:10.1155/2015/685785

Tanvir Manzur, Munaz Ahmed Noor + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/685785

Copy DOI

Abstract

The conventional external curing process requires supply of large amount of water in addition to mixing water as well as strict quality control protocol. However, in a developing country like Bangladesh, many local contractors do not have awareness and required knowledge on importance of curing which often results in weaker concrete with durability issues. Moreover, at times it is difficult to maintain proper external curing process due to nonavailability of water and skilled laborer. Internal curing can be adopted under such scenario since this method is simple and less quality intensive. Usually, naturally occurring porous light weight aggregates (LWA) are used as internal curing agent. However, naturally occurring LWA are not available in many countries like Bangladesh. Under these circumstances, Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) can be utilized as an alternative internal curing agent. In this study, sodium polyacrylate (SP) as SAP has been used to produce internally cured concrete. Desorption isotherm of SP has been developed to investigate its effectiveness as internal curing agent. Test results showed that internally cured concrete with SP performed better in terms of both strength and durability as compared to control samples when subjected to adverse curing conditions where supply of additional water for external curing was absent.

Highlights

Internal curing (IC) is a process of supplying additional internal water to the concrete mix to ensure proper hydration
Around 70% reduction in water permeability and 17% reduction in chloride permeability compared to control samples were observed for C3 condition
Such favorable conditions of temperature and humidity exist within concrete mixes especially during initial phases of hydration

Summary

Introduction

Internal curing (IC) is a process of supplying additional internal water to the concrete mix to ensure proper hydration. The research by Kevern and Farney [11] found that 33% higher compressive strength and 35% less water permeability can be achieved by adding SAP within concrete It is, apparent that SAP has the ability to modify various properties of cement paste and concrete depending on amount, type, mix proportions, and so forth. Apparent that SAP has the ability to modify various properties of cement paste and concrete depending on amount, type, mix proportions, and so forth It is evident from the previous study that high absorption and desorption capacity of SAP can be used for improving concrete mechanical behavior. It has been found that samples with SP showed better performance as compared to control samples in all cases of adverse curing conditions

Experimental Investigation

Results and Analysis

Significance of the Research

Conclusions