What is Concrete Curing Compound?

Curing is essential for the hydration of cement in concrete making. So, to maintain
required moisture content, come precautions are applied. Concrete curing compound is a
compound which helps to prevent the loss of moisture content from the concrete. So,
concrete is properly cured which results the full development of strength of concrete.

Types of Concrete Curing Compounds

 Synthetic resin compound

 Acrylic compound

 Wax compound

 Chlorinated rubber compound

Synthetic Resin Concrete Curing Compound

Synthetic resins will seal the concrete by forming membrane. If we want to provide
plastering, the membrane can be removed by washing it with hot water.

Acrylic Concrete Curing Compound

Acrylic is made of polymers of acrylic acid. It also seals the concrete in good manner. It
is having property of adhesion to the subsequent plaster. No need to wash the surface of
acrylic with hot water if we want to provide plastering.

Wax Concrete Curing Compound

Wax compound have similar properties like resin compound. The wax membrane will
lose its efficiency with time increment.

Chlorinated Rubber Curing compound

 Chlorinated rubber type curing compound will form thick layer when we applied. It seals
the concrete tightly and fills the minute pores present in the concrete. But the film cannot
stay for longer period. It is wear out in the long run.

Properties of Concrete Curing Compound

There are 5 properties to deicide the quality of concrete curing compound namely

 Water retention

 Reflectance

 Drying period

 Long term setting

 Non-volatile matter

Process of Applying Concrete Curing Compound

Concrete curing compounds formed a membrane when we applied to fresh concrete. This
member does not allow the inside moisture to come out of concrete hence, curing occurs.

This curing compounds possess waxes, natural resins, synthetic resins and solvents of
high volatility. Generally white or gray colors are appeared when we apply curing
compound on fresh concrete. These pigments are provided heat reflectance and also
useful to check the area of curing completed.
 Curing compound is applied when the finishing is completed and free water present on
the surface gets disappeared. The curing compound is applied through spraying pipe as
shown in above figure with constant rate of pressure.

Generally, one liter of curing compound can be sprayed for 0.20 – 0.25m surface area of
2

fresh concrete. The sprayer pressure is usually 0.5 – 0.7 MPa. In small areas, we can
also use brushes or paint rollers to apply curing compounds.
Curing compound should not be applied on surfaces which receive additional concreting.

Uses of Concrete Curing Compound

There are so many uses of curing compound in concrete. Which are

 If wet curing is not possible, then curing compound can be used to cure the concrete
surface.

 For larger areas of concrete surfaces which are opened to sunlight, wind etc. curing is
big task. But with the presence of curing compound it is easier.

 Curing of concrete pavements, run ways, bridge decks etc. can be cured to reach their
maximum strength.
 Maximum durability of structure will be developed.

 Curing compound can be used for curing of canal linings, dams

 Columns, beams, slabs can also be cured with curing compound

 The membrane cane removed easily after complete curing.

Testing of concrete curing compounds can be carried out as per ASTM C 309. ASTM C
309 provides specifications and testing of concrete curing compounds.

Read More:
Curing Time and Durations for Concrete Construction
Concrete Curing Methods for Different Types of Constructions
Methods of Curing of Concrete
 Concrete Curing Time
Curing of cement concrete is defined as the process of maintaining the moisture and
temperature conditions of concrete for hydration reaction to normally so that concrete
develops hardened properties over time. The main components which needs to be taken
care are moisture, heat and time during curing process.

Why curing of cement concrete is required?

Curing of cement concrete is required for the following reasons:

 To prevent the concrete to dry out prematurely due to solar radiation and wind. This
prevents plastic shrinkage of concrete.

 It helps to maintain the concrete temperature by allowing the hydration process.

Hydration process requires water to carry on and releases heat.

 Curing helps the concrete to harden and bond with internal materials and reinforcement.
This helps to prevent damage to bond between concrete and reinforcement due to vibration and
impact.

 This helps development of impermeable, crack free and durable concrete.

Fig: Curing of Concrete Roof Slab by Ponding

What is the right time for curing of concrete?
The time to start curing of concrete depends on the evaporation rate of moisture from the
concrete. The evaporation rate is influenced by wind, radiant energy from sunshine,
concrete temperature, climatic conditions, relative humidity.

The evaporation of moisture is driven by the difference in vapor pressure on concrete

surface and the in surrounding air. When the difference is high, evaporation rate is high.

ACI 308 – Guide to Curing Concrete suggests three phases of concrete curing. These
phases are shown in figure 1.6 of ACI 308.
The right time of curing of concrete depends on:
1. Initial Curing – Bleeding of Concrete:
When the concrete is placed and compacted, bleeding of water occurs and rises through
the surface of concrete due to settlement of concrete. The rate and duration of bleeding
depends on many factors including concrete mix properties, depth or thickness of
concrete, method of compaction of concrete etc.

These bleed water starts to evaporate from the surface. When all the bleeding water has
disappeared from the surface, the drying of concrete starts, then initial curing of
concrete is required to minimize the moisture loss and prevent plastic shrinkage cracks
to concrete before and during finishing operations.

The initial curing of concrete can be done by techniques such as fogging or using the
evaporation reducers, or by providing the sunshades and windscreens.

2. Intermediate curing:
Intermediate curing is done when the concrete surface finishing operations has been
carried out before the final setting of concrete. This happens when the required surface
texture of concrete member is achieved rapidly or when the setting of concrete is
delayed.

3. Final Curing:
When the concrete is finished after the final setting of concrete, the final curing of
concrete should be done. This helps to prevent surface drying of concrete because the
loss of moisture from the concrete surface occurs immediately.

What is the duration of cement concrete curing?

 Curing of concrete for longer duration increases the strength and durability of concrete
structural member. The following figure explains how the compressive strength of
concrete increases with time when it is cured for longer duration.

Fig: Effect of duration of water curing on strength of concrete

The curing duration of concrete depends on:
 The reason for curing i.e. to prevent plastic shrinkage, temperature control, strength and
durability of concrete.

 The size of concrete structural member

 The type of concrete grade and rate of hardening of concrete

 The temperature and moisture conditions of surroundings

 The exposure conditions of the concrete surface during and after curing

 The requirement of curing duration as per specification of concrete

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 301 recommends a minimum curing
period corresponding to concrete attaining 70 per cent of the specified compressive
strength. The often specified 7 day curing commonly corresponds to approximately 70
per cent of the specified compressive strengths.
 The Indian Standard IS 456 – 2000 recommends that curing duration of concrete must
be at least 7 days in case of ordinary Portland Cement, at least 10 days for concrete with
mineral admixtures or blended cements are used. It also recommends that the curing
duration should not be less than 10 days for concrete exposed to dry and hot weather
conditions and 14 days for concrete with mineral admixtures or blended cement in hot
and dry weather.
References:
 ACI 308, American Concrete Institute – Guide to Curing Concrete

 BS 8110 – British Standard for the Design and Construction of Reinforced and
Prestressed Concrete Structures

 IS 456 – 2000 : Indian Standard Code of Practice for Plain and Reinforced Concrete

Read More:
Concrete Curing Methods for Different Types of Construction / Structures
Methods of Curing Concrete Structures and their Comparisons
Curing of High Performance Concrete -Methods and Duration of Curing
Accelerated Curing Method for Concrete Compressive Strength Test
Concrete Curing Methods for Different Types of Construction / Structures
Different types of structures / construction require different types of concrete curing
methods. The curing method of RCC Slab cannot be applied to RCC column. Therefore,
in this article, we will discuss about the various concrete curing methods which can be
applied to different types of concrete construction for effective curing.

The curing of concrete is done to keep the moisture content intact for structure so that
hydration process can continue and concrete gains strength without the any surface
defects on member.

Curing of Pavements and other Slabs on Ground:

Airfield concrete pavements, highway concrete pavements, canal linings, walkways,
driveways, parking lots constructed with concrete, ground floor slabs are examples of
slabs on ground. They have very large exposed surface area compared to vertical
concrete construction. Due to this, the evaporation rates from these surface are high
which may result in plastic shrinkage cracks in very early stage.

The loss of moisture in a concrete slab resting on ground can be from both top and
bottom surface. Moisture loss from the bottom surface of concrete is due to absorption by
dry subgrade.

This continuous evaporation from slab surface results in slowing down of hydration
process and as a result, it has deleterious effect on strength, abrasion resistance, and
durability of concrete.

Curing methods for concrete pavements and slabs:

The curing of slabs and pavements should begin as soon as the finishing of surface has
finished, but without marring the concrete surface. To prevent the moisture loss at a
rapid rate, protective measures such as evaporation reduces, wind breakers, sunshields
and fog sprayers can be used immediately after the concrete casting. The exposed
surface of concrete slabs and pavements are covered with mats and kept wet until the
required strength and properties of concrete have developed.

When the curing of concrete slabs and pavement is done continuously for a period of
time, the drying of concrete after stoppage of curing may lead to surface defects such as
shrinkage cracks due to rapid loss of moisture. To prevent this, the concrete must be
protected by covering it with mats or plastic sheets till the concrete has dried under the
sheets.

Curing methods for Concrete Buildings, Bridges and other

Structures:
A concrete building, bridges and other structures include members such as columns,
walls, beams, slabs, footings, piers, retaining walls, conduits and tunnel linings. These
structural members are cured by one or more methods described in Concrete Curing
Methods.
When the concrete has hardened then for the vertical faces formwork ties may be
loosened in a way that does not damage the concrete, and water is applied from the top
surface to make it run down inside of the form to keep the concrete wet.

After the removal of the formwork, the concrete surface must be kept dry by water
spraying or using water-saturated fabrics. Additional curing should be provided after
striking the formworks when the strength and durability of concrete is of much
importance. This can be achieved by continuous application of water or by using
membrane forming curing compounds.

Curing Methods for Mass Concrete:

Mass concrete is a large volume cast-in-place concrete construction such as heavy
footings, dams, piers, abutments and similar massive construction. The heat generated
due to hydration process in these constructions are very high and require the proper heat
control arrangements to control the cracking and volume change.

The effect of temperature rise is very high in case of high strength and high cementitious
concrete. The recommendations for control of heat in mass concrete can be found in ACI
207.1R and ACI 207.2R.

The curing of mass concrete in horizontal or sloping surfaces can be done by keeping it
continuously wet by spraying of water, by using wet sand or by using the water-saturated
fabrics. For vertical surfaces water must be allowed to rundown from top to bottom
inside the form by loosening the ties of top formwork. Immediately after striking of forms,
these concrete surfaces can be covered with water-saturated fabrics or can be kept wet
by continuous spray of water.

The difference in temperature between the inside of concrete and water should not be
more than 11 C. The difference more than this may induce temperature stress in
0

concrete. The care must be taken during cold weather conditions. The liquid membrane
forming can be used during cold weather conditions.
Curing for Special Concrete:
Special concrete has different properties and composition form the normal cement
concrete. These types of concrete require special curing methods.

Following table provides the ACI Committee reports for curing of different types of
special concrete:
Special Concrete ACI Committee Report

Refractory concrete ACI 547.1R

Insulating concrete ACI 523.1R

Expansive cement concrete ACI 223

Roller compacted concrete ACI 207.5R

 Architectural concrete ACI 303R

Shotcrete ACI 506.2

Fiber Reinforced Concrete ACI 544.3R

Vertical Slipform Construction ACI 313

References: ACI 308R – Guide to Curing

Read More:
Methods of Curing Concrete Structures and their Comparisons
Curing of High Performance Concrete -Methods and Duration of Curing

Accelerated Curing Method is used to get early high compressive strength in concrete.
This method is also used to find out 28 days compressive strength of concrete in 28
hours. (As per IS 9013-1978-Method of making, curing and determining compressive
strength of accelerated cured concrete test specimens).

Accelerated curing is useful in the prefabrication industry wherein high early age
strength enables the removal of the formwork within 24 hours thereby reducing the cycle
time resulting in cost saving benefits.The most commonly adopted curing techniques are
steam curing at atmospheric pressure, warm water curing, boiling water curing and
autoclaving.
Compressive Strength Test using Accelerated Curing
Method
1. After the test specimens (whose 28 days strength to be determined) have been made,
store it in moist air of at least 90 percent humidity for 23 hours + 15 min.
2. Cover the specimens with flat steel cover plate to avoid distortion during the use.

3. Carefully and gently lower the specimens into the curing tank and shall remain totally
immersed for a period of 3½

Hours + 15 min.
4. The temperature of water in the curing tank shall be at boiling (100 C) when the
o

specimens are placed.

5. After curing for 3 ½ hours in boil water, the specimen shall be carefully removed from
the boiling water and cooled by immersing in cooling tank at 27 +2 C for 2 hrs.
o
6. After cooling remove the specimens from the mould and tested for its accelerated
compressive strength (Ra) in N/mm .2

7. The 28 days can be found out using following formula.

Predicted 28 days compressive strength = R28 = 8.09 + 1.64 Ra, where Ra is
accelerated compressive strength and R28 is predicted compressive strength at 28 days.