© 2017 IJEDR | Volume 5, Issue 1 | ISSN: 2321-9939
Experimental Study on Curing Methods of Concrete
1
D.Gowsika, 2P.Balamurugan, 3R.Kamalambigai
1,3
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Kongunadu College of Engineering, Trichy, Tamilnadu, India.
2Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Dhirajlal Gandhi College of Technology, Salem, Tamilnadu, India.
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Abstract -This paper is directed to evaluate effectiveness of different curing methods and study the persuade of climate on
the strength properties of concrete. Normal concrete was prepared with a water-cement ratio of 0.45. The specimens were
cast for testing the compressive strength at 7, 14 and 28 days of curing respectively using seven curing methods namely
Ponding, Air Drying, Immersion, Oven curing, calcium chloride (miscellaneous), Membrane curing and Pack (Plastic
sheeting) curing to cure the specimens until the day of testing. Test results indicates that water curing (WAC) Immersion ,
Ponding as well as Membrane curing provide much better results than Plastic Sheeting method of curing. The rate of
drying was important when the specimens were subjected to Oven method of curing. The overall finding of this paper
suggests that concrete should be cured by water curing to attain a better compressive strength.
Keywords - Ponding, Air Drying, Immersion, Oven curing, Membrane curing, Plastic Sheeting method, compressive strength.
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I. INTRODUCTION
A. General
Concrete is mainly used as the construction material; it is generally related with Portland cement as the chief component
for production of concrete. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is usually used as the primary binder to make concrete. When OPC
is mixed with water, a chemical reaction called hydration takes place. The extent to which this effect is completed influences the
durability and strength of the concrete. Freshly mixed concrete normally contains extra water it required for hydration of the
cement. Though, extreme loss of water by evaporation can delay or prevent adequate hydration.
Curing is the maintenance of a satisfactory moisture content and temperature in concrete for a period of time
immediately placing and finishing so that the desired properties may develop during hydration. In order to attain good quality
concrete, a suitable mix must be followed by curing in a suitable environment during the early stages of hardening. Curing must
be undertaken for a useful period of time if concrete is to attain its potential strength and durability. Curing is necessary if
concrete is to achieve its intended function over the design life of the structure whereas. Curing can be done in a number of
methods while the most suitable means of curing may be dictated by the site conditions or the construction method. The need for
adequate curing of concrete cannot be overemphasized. Proper curing will increase durability, volume stability, strength, water
tightness, abrasion resistance, and resistance to freezing and thawing and deicers. Exposed slab surface are particularly sensitive
to curing as strength development and freeze-thaw resistance of the top surface of a slab can be reduced considerably when curing
is defective. If temperatures are favorable, hydration is relatively rapid the first few days after concrete is placed.
B. Significance of curing
When the mineral admixtures react entirely in a blended cement system, their demand for curing water can be much
superior to that in a conventional ordinary Portland cement concrete. When this water is not readily offered, significant
deformation and early age cracking may cause. Due to the chemical shrinkage occurring during cement hydration, empty pores
are formed within the cement paste, leading to a decrease in its internal relative humidity and also to shrinkage which may affect
early age cracking.
II. METHODS OF CURING CONCRETE
A. Air Curing
Generally this type of curing done when atmospheric air contains 90% of moisture content. After removal of mould,
casted cubes were immersed in water for maximum of 24±1.5hours. And the specimen was kept out in the open atmosphere until
tested for 7, 14 and 28 days.
B. Calcium chloride (CaCl2)
Calcium chloride is used as surface coating or as an admixture. It has been used adequately as a curing medium. These
methods are based on that calcium chloride being a salt show affinity for moisture. The salt not only absorbs the moisture content
from atmosphere but also retain it at the surface. This moisture held at the surface prevents the mixing water from evaporation
and keeps the concrete wet for a long time to support hydration. After removal of mould, cubes were immersed in water for
24±1.5hours .And the specimen coated with CaCl2 solution on its surface and kept uninterrupted till testing on 7, 14 and 28 days.
C. Pack curing
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© 2017 IJEDR | Volume 5, Issue 1 | ISSN: 2321-9939
Pack curing done by covering the specimen with plastic sheet over the wet saw dust on surface of concrete cubes. After
removal of casted mould, Cubes were immersed in water for maximum of 24±1.5hours and test specimen were covered with fine
wet sawdust as a pack over surface of concrete cube. Later whole specimen enclosed with plastic film to avoid evaporation of
water.
Sawdust: Natural material which has property of excellent absorbing water and maintaining moisture for long time.
D. Membrane curing
Burlaps, cotton mats, and rugs and other covering of permeable material which hold water on the surface whether
horizontal or vertical. Burlap should be carefully rinsed in water to make it more absorbent. Cotton mats and rugs hold water
longer than burlap with less jeopardy of drying out. They are handled the same as burlap except that due to their greater mass
application to a freshly finished surface must wait until the concrete has hardened to greater degree than for burlap. Two or three
coats may be required for effective sealing of the surface to prevent the evaporation of water.
E. Pond curing
Ponding on flat surfaces, such as pavements and floors, concrete can be cured by ponding. Earth or sand dikes around the
border of the concrete surface can retain a pond of water. It is suitable for curing horizontal surfaces such as floors, roof slabs,
and road and air field pavements. The horizontal top surfaces of beams can also be ponded. After placing the concrete, its
exposed surface is first covered with moist canvas. After 24 hours, these covers are removed and small ponds of clay or sand are
built across the beam. The area is divided into a number of rectangles. The water is filled between the ponds. The filling of water
in these ponds is done twice or thrice a day, depending upon the atmospheric conditions. Though this method is very efficient.
F. Immersion curing
Immersion curing with water consists of total immersion of the hardened concrete element. This method is commonly
used in the laboratory for curing the concrete specimens.
This method of curing satisfies all the requirements of curing, namely, promotion of hydration, elimination of shrinkage
and absorption of heat of hydration. It is pointed out that if the membrane method is adopted, it is enviable that a certain extent of
water curing is done before the concrete is covered with membranes. The precast concrete items are normally immersed in curing
tanks for certain period. In some cases, wet coverings such as wet gunny bags, hessian cloth, jute matting are wrapped to vertical
surface for keeping the concrete wet.
G. Oven curing
Generally oven curing happening after immersing the remolded specimen in water for at least 24±1.5 hours. For oven
curing, the specimens were cured in the oven at 80 o C for 1.5hrs±2mints. After curing in oven the test specimens were kept
without interruption until for at least six hours in order to avoid a radical modify in the environmental conditions .This specimens
were gone to air-dry followed by sprinkling in the laboratory awaiting the day of test.
III. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
A. Material properties
Ordinary Portland Cement of 53grade confirming to IS 12269-1987 was used . River sand confirming to grading zone II of IS
383-1970 was used as a fine aggregate. Well graded coarse aggregate passing through 20mm sieve according to IS 383-1970 was
used. Saw dust was obtained from sawmill used for covering the specimen.
Table 1 Physical Properties of Cement
S.NO Description Test Values
1. Specific gravity 3.15
2. Initial Setting Time 30 min
3. Final Setting Time 350min
4. Fineness Modulus 3.2%
5. Slumpvalue 65 mm
6. Compaction Factor 0.95
Table 2 Physical Properties of Fine Aggregate
S.NO Description Fine aggregate
1. Specific gravity 2.75
2. Water Absorption 1%
3. Fineness Modulus 2.83
Table 3 Physical Properties of Coarse aggregate
S.NO Description Coarseaggregate
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© 2017 IJEDR | Volume 5, Issue 1 | ISSN: 2321-9939
1. Specific gravity 2.60
2. Water Absorption 0.5%
3. Fineness Modulus 2.68
B. Mix proportion
The mix proportioning for M20 grade concrete used in the present work. It is designed as per IS 10262-1982 standards.
The mix proportioning adopted was cement: sand: coarse aggregate: water/cement ratio respectively.
Table 4 Mix Proportion
WATER CEMENT FINE AGGREGATE COARSE AGGREGATE
191.6 Lit 426 Kg/m3 565 Kg/m3 1164 Kg/m3
0.5 1 1.32 2.73
C. Experimental investigation
The experiment was conducted to find the distinction in increased compressive strength for dissimilar curing methods.
The tests were conducted at 7th, 14th and 28th days. For that we followed all the procedures as per IS code specifications. The
cubes of 150 x 150 x 150 mm size were tested.
Compressive Strength for 7days
25
Compressive Strength N/mm2
20
15
10
5
0
CaCl2 CURING
POND CURING
OVEN CURING
PACK CURING
IMMERSION
MEMBRANE
AIR DRYING
CURING
CURING
Samples
Figure 1. Compressive strength for 7 days
Compressive Strength for 14days
Compressive Strength N/mm2
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
CaCl2 CURING
OVEN CURING
PACK CURING
POND CURING
IMMERSION
MEMBRANE
AIR DRYING
CURING
CURING
Samples
Figure 2. Compressive strength for 14 days
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© 2017 IJEDR | Volume 5, Issue 1 | ISSN: 2321-9939
Compressive Strength for 28days
35
Compressive Strength N/mm2
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
CaCl2 CURING
OVEN CURING
PACK CURING
POND CURING
IMMERSION
MEMBRANE
AIR DRYING
CURING
CURING
Samples
Figure 3. Compressive strength for 28 days
IV. CONCLUSION
Use of white based curing compounds CaCl2 resulted in strength up to 73% to 75% of conventional curing. Ponding
were found valuable than membrane curing and attains strength improved up to 26.67% than membrane and shows 93% of
conventional curing. A double layer membrane curing shows considerably improved strength than pack curing i.e., 88.9% of
conventional immersion curing concrete. Properties when compared with the equivalent single layer application, double layer
application of jute bag curing shows improved strength properties of concrete. Pack curing shows increased compressive strength
than Air drying and compound curing. It attains 16% increased strength than Air drying and 22% than compound curing. Air
drying shows least strength on curing and Oven drying followed by sprinkling shows improved strength than all other methods of
curing. Through this study it is concluded that concrete has great influence on its strength properties on different curing.
V. REFERENCES
1. Duggal.S.K, Building Materials, Revised 2nd Edition, New International Publishers.
2. Gupta.B.L.,Amit Gupta, Concrete Technology, Standard Publishers Distributors.
3. Santhakumar, A.R, Concrete Technology, First Edition OXFORD university publication.
4. Shetty. M.S – “Concrete Technology” S.Chand and company.
5. Varghese.P.C, Building Materials, First Edition, Prentice, Hall of India Pvt Ltd.
6. “Code of practice for plain and reinforced concrete IS: 456-2000” Fourth revision, Bureau of Indian standards, Manak
Bhawan, New Delhi.
7. ACI Committee 612, “curing of concrete”, journal of American concrete institute, vol. 30, No.2, August, 1958.
8. Bentz, D.P., “Influence of Curing Conditions on Water Loss and Hydration in Cement Pastes with and without Fly Ash
Substitution,” NISTIR 6886, U.S. Dept. Commerce, July 2002.
9. Zain M.F.M (2007) Effect of different 5 curing method on the properties of micro silica concrete. Australian Journal of
Basic and applied Science, 1(2): 87-95, 2007 ISSN 1991-8178 2007, INSI net publication.
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