Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the temperature distribution, strength development, porosity, scanning electron microscopy observation, shrinkage, and surface properties of concrete in order to apply microwave heat curing to the precast method and to analyze the CO2 emissions and economic feasibility of microwave heat curing. The heating of a steel form by microwave heating enabled concrete to be efficiently cured at a temperature within a range of ±5 °C. After the curing, demolding strength could be cleared through the densification of the concrete by decreasing the porosity of the concrete. Microwave heat curing exhibited excellent performance compared to conventional steam curing in terms of efficient temperature control, occurrence of cracks due to shrinkage, surface condition of concrete after curing, economic efficiency, and CO2 emissions. However, verification and supplementation based on actual data are necessary so that environments applicable to the various sizes and shapes of forms can be prepared.
Highlights
In building construction, the amount of air and energy used should be saved while maintaining stable quality
The site precast concrete (PCa) method, which is the process of manufacturing PCa at a site and immediately constructing it, has attracted attention in recent years [3,4]
Experiments were carried out in four conditions that comprised one steam curing condition, which is applied in the PCa method, and three MW heat curing conditions
Summary
The amount of air and energy used should be saved while maintaining stable quality. The PCa method provides various advantages such as quality, safety, and a reduction in construction time and labor. It poses the problem of environmental load and high cost owing to transportation [1,2]. To solve these problems, the site PCa method, which is the process of manufacturing PCa at a site and immediately constructing it, has attracted attention in recent years [3,4]. The disadvantages of this method are that a large space for a factory to manufacture the PCa products in the field, a curing facility, and a yard of produced PCa products are required. It is highly likely that the PCa method will be replaced by the site PCa method in the future
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