Evaluating feasibility of using sea water curing for green artificial reef concrete

Abstract

Sea water curing (SWC, 20 ± 2 °C) has been proposed to obtain economic benefits for green artificial reef concrete (GARC) in coastal areas. This study evaluated the feasibility of SWC based on the mechanical properties and permeability resistance of GARC. Three curing regimes were used: SWC (20 ± 2 °C), standard curing (SC, 90–95% relative humidity at 20 ± 2 °C), and fresh water curing (FWC, 20 ± 2 °C). The results showed that there were little effects on compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of GARC under the three curing regimes. In addition, SWC slightly increased the permeability of GARC. SWC appeared to be an effective technique to cure GARC in marine environments, which was further confirmed by evaluating the microstructure using environmental scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, and pore structure analyzer.