Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Effects of curing methods of concrete after steam curing on mechanical

strength and permeability
Baoju Liu a, Junyi Jiang a, Shuai Shen b, Feng Zhou a, Jinyan Shi a,⇑, Zhihai He c,⇑
a
School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410075, PR China
b
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, Beijing 100038, PR China
c
School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, PR China

h i g h l i g h t s

The subsequent curing regimes has great influence on the mechanical properties and permeability of steam-cured concrete.

Surface permeability can be used to characterize the long-term performance of steam-cured concrete.

Adequate subsequent curing will have a positive impact on macro-performance and microstructure of steam-cured concrete.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The accelerated hardening of concrete caused by steam curing has adverse effects on the microstructure
Received 14 February 2020 and properties of concrete, so it is necessary to adopt appropriate curing method to reduce the damage
Received in revised form 1 May 2020 caused by steam curing. The effects of curing methods on the properties of concrete after steam curing
Accepted 3 May 2020
are worth studying. The compressive strength, non-evaporable water content and permeability (air,
Available online 8 May 2020
water and ion) of steam-cured concrete were tested under different subsequent curing conditions.
Meanwhile, the internal microstructure was also investigated by image processing and SEM. The results
Keywords:
show that the compressive strength of steam-cured concrete with four curing methods increases with the
Steam-cured concrete
Permeability
curing time, but the growth rates are different. The permeability of the concretes cured in the air
Capillary water absorption decreased first and then increased with the curing time, while other curing methods decreased with cur-
Chloride diffusion coefficient ing time. The microstructure also shows that adequate subsequent wet curing can effectively reduce the
Compressive strength adverse effects of steam curing on concrete.
Curing methods Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction porosity, higher early compressive strength, and lower long-term

Steam curing can promote the strength growth of concrete and
speed up the production efficiency, so it is widely used in prefab-
ricated elements plant [1–4]. However, the accelerated hardening
of concrete caused by steam curing will have adverse effects on
the microstructure and properties of concrete compared with stan-
dard curing conditions [5–8]. During the steam curing, the rapid
hydration of cement by the heat results in less diffusion and the
formation of dense region around the cement particles, and the
expansion of the gas–liquid phase inside the concrete produces
volume deformation and micro-cracks [5,6,8–11]. Compared with
the standard-cured concrete, the steam-cured concrete has higher
⇑ Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: bjliu@csu.edu.cn (B. Liu), jinyan.shi@csu.edu.cn (J. Shi),
zhihaihe1981@126.com, hezhihai@usx.edu.cn (Z. He).
mechanical properties and durability [12–16].
Although researchers have very different explanations for the
adverse effects of steam curing on concrete, researchers generally
acknowledge the weakness of steam-cured concrete in the long-
term performance [17–21]. Most researchers have believed that
the physical effects of early high temperature are the main reason
for the poor long-term performance of steam-cured concrete,
rather than the changes in the chemical nature of hydration prod-
ucts. Soroka et al. [22] believed that the difference in the expansion
coefficients of the different materials is the main reason for this
adverse effect. Verbeck found that the dense gel shell formed by
rapid hydration at high temperatures limited the complete hydra-
tion of cementitious materials [23]. In addition, the delayed growth
of ettringite have been also considered as an inducement for
adverse effects [24]. However, some researchers have pointed out
that chemical effects make the long-term performance of steam-
cured concrete poor. They think that high-temperature steam

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119441
0950-0618/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441
curing will affect the degree of polymerization and apparent den-
sity of the gel, and even the basal-spacing [25–27]. To mitigate
these adverse effects, researchers have made some meaningful
attempts. Optimizing the steam curing regime is the easiest
method to improve the adverse effects of heat treatment [28].
Properly prolonging pre-curing time, slowing the heating rate
and reducing the treatment temperature can reduce the adverse
effects brought by steam curing [29–31]. However, this is often
contradictory to economic benefits and demoulding properties,
therefore it is rarely used by prefabricated elements plant. In addi-
tion, the addition of mineral admixtures also has a significant effect
on mitigating the adverse effects of steam curing [29,32,33]. Indus-
trial wastes such as fly ash and round granular blast furnace slag
have been widely used in steam-cured concrete.
After demolding, the steam-cured concrete will continue to be
cured under subsequent curing conditions for a period of time
(1–28 days). It can be seen that the importance of subsequent cur-
ing, which consumes several times the time of early steam curing
[33]. However, the subsequent curing techniques still have
received little attention from researchers. It is the simplest method
to reduce the adverse effect of steam curing by adopting proper
curing methods after steam curing. At present, the treatment
methods of prefabricated elements after steam curing are also dif-
ferent. Sleepers and prefabricated beams usually adopt the spray-
ing water curing at early ages, while track slabs are usually cured
in water for at least 3 days. There is still a dispute about the effect
of subsequent curing. Subramanian indicated that the strength of
concrete did not increase significantly by additional water curing,
and suggested that steam-cured sleepers did not require the water
curing [34]. He et al. found that adopting 20 °C water curing after
steam curing can significantly decrease the sorptivity coefficient
and porosity of concrete [35]. Li and Niu studied the influence of
the methods of curing in the water or covering by wet fabric after
steam curing on the properties of steam-cured concrete, and the
results showed that the saturated water content and 28-day rapid
carbonation depth of the concrete reduced, and the softening factor
and 28-day compressive strength of the concrete increase [36].
Therefore, the systematic study of the effect of subsequent curing
on the prefabricated concrete elements is of great significance for
engineering applications.
The effect of curing methods of concrete after steam curing on
the properties of concrete have been relatively less studied. More-
over, sorptivity coefficient, non-steady-state chloride ion coeffi-
cient and gas permeability of steam-cured concrete with
difference subsequent curing regimes were not investigated in
the previously published literatures. This paper used four engi-
neering curing methods, such as saturated lime water curing,
water curing, standard curing, and air curing, and investigated
the influences of curing conditions after steam curing on the
hydration process, mechanical properties, and permeability (gas,
water and ion). The influences of subsequent curing regimes on
the internal structure evolution of steam-cured concrete were
investigated by measuring the pore structure using image process-
ing and microstructure using scanning electron microscope (SEM).
In addition, surface permeability was used to characterize the
properties of steam-cured concrete after subsequent curing, and
its relationship with other permeability was also established in this
paper.
Table 1
Chemical compositions of OPC.
Materials Mass fraction w/%
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO
OPC 24.6 7.3 4.0 59.7
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials and mix proportions
The cement used in this study is ordinary Portland cement
(OPC) with the 28-day compressive strength of 48.6 MPa, it is pro-
vided by Pingtang (Hunan) Cement Co. Ltd. The density of OPC is
about 3.12 g/cm3, and its chemical compositions is shown in
Table 1. Fine aggregate (S) is river sand (Xiangjiang) with a fineness
modulus of 2.76. The apparent density of the river sand is 2650 kg/
m3, and its water absorption is 0.5%. Limestone gravel with a size of
5–20 mm is employed as coarse aggregate (G). The limestone has
an apparent density of 2680 kg/m3, and its water absorption is
2.2%. A polycarboxylate superplasticizer (SP) with water reduction
rate of 25% is used in this study. The mix proportion of steam-
cured concrete which is the basic mix used by China’s high-
speed railway prefabricated concrete plant is shown in Table 2.
2.2. Specimen preparation and curing method
Fresh concrete mixtures were prepared with a forced mixer and
poured into the moulds with a dimension of 100  100  100 mm.
The steam curing regime was used by the Chinese railway to pre-
pare prefabricated concrete slabs and sleepers, as shown in Fig. 1.
To reduce the adverse effects of steam curing on concrete, 2 h of
pre-curing was used at normal temperature (20 °C). After pre-
curing, concrete was placed in a steam curing box for 12 h, which
included a 2 h of temperature rising from 20 to 60 °C, a treatment
at 60 °C for 8 h and a cooling within 2 h. At the end of steam curing,
the specimens were demoulded. Some specimens were immedi-
ately tested for the hydration process, mechanical properties and
permeability (labeled as 1d). The others were divided into different
subsequent curing conditions: saturated lime water curing (im-
mersion in 20 °C saturated lime water), water curing (immersion
in 20 °C water), standard curing (the temperature is 20 °C, and
the relative humidity is more than 95%), and air curing (the air
environment with average temperature of 20 °C and average rela-
tive humidity of 50%), and the corresponding properties of steam-
cured concretes were investigated at 3, 14 and 28 days.
2.3. Test methods
2.3.1. Non-evaporable water content
To ascertain the effect of different subsequent curing on the
hydration process of steam-cured concrete, the non-evaporable
water content of cement paste was measured [37,38]. In order to
avoid the influence of aggregates on the test results, cement pastes
with the same size and curing procedures as the concrete speci-
mens were used to test the non-evaporable water content.
Table 2
Mix proportion of steam-cured concrete.
OPC (kg/m3) S (kg/m3) G (kg/m3) W/B SP (%)
450 992.5 1686.8 0.3 0.5
*water/binder ratio: W/B.
Specific surface area/(m2/kg)
MgO SO3 Na2O
3.8 2.5 0.6 369
 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441
Fig. 1. Steam curing regime applied to concretes in this paper.
Although the difference in thermal properties between cement
pastes and concrete specimens may make the internal temperature
of the paste higher in the steam curing process [39,40], after curing
according to the same procedure, the non-evaporated water con-
tent of the paste can still indirectly reflect the hydration process
of the concrete [41]. The non-evaporable water content of the
cement pastes with same W/B ratio as the concrete was measured
after demoulding and at 3, 14, 28 days. Specimens were broken
into small pieces, and put them in anhydrous ethanol to cease
the further hydration, and then ground until the particles all pass
the 80 lm sieve. In order to remove the moisture adsorbed on
the crucible, the crucible was first heated for 3 h at 950 °C, and
the mass of the crucible is m1 after cooling to room temperature.
The specimens soaked in anhydrous ethanol were put into the cru-
cible at 110 ± 5 °C until a constant weight of m2. The crucible con-
taining the sample was put into a muffle furnace at 950 °C until a
constant weight of m3. Because the loss on ignition of cement is
very small, the non-evaporable water content (W) was calculated
according to the following equation:
m2  m3
W¼
m2  m1
Each non-evaporable water content data is the mean value of
three experimental results measured on three duplicate
specimens.
2.3.2. Compressive strength
Cubical specimen with dimensions of 100  100  100 mm was
used to determine the compressive strength of concrete. Three
cubical specimens after demoulding and at 3, 14, 28 days were
tested in this study. Compressive strength tests were performed
in accordance with GB50081-2002 by using a TENSON 600 kN
servo-hydraulic testing machine.
2.3.3. Capillary water absorption (CWA)
CWA was used to determine the rate of water absorption of the
concrete surface, which was measured according to ASTM C 1585
and test details in the published literature [42,43]. The CWA tests
of steam-cured concrete (100  100  100 mm) were determined
on three specimens of each curing conditions after demoulding and
at 3, 14, 28 days. With the plot of CWA versus the square root of
time, the sorptivity coefficient (K) was defined as the slop of the
linear relation, and can be calculated by the following formula:
3
DW pffiffi
i¼aþ ¼ aþK t ð2Þ
Aqw
In which i-Capillary water absorption, mm; a-Constant; 4W-
Cumulative water absorbing quality at various times, g; A-The
cross section of specimen that is in contact with water, mm2;
qw-Water density, 1 g/cm3; K-Sorptivity coefficient, mm/s0.5;
t-Water absorption time, s.
2.3.4. Chloride ion permeability
The chloride ion permeability of steam-cured concrete was
evaluated by the rapid chloride migration (RCM) test in accordance
with NT Build 492. Three cylindrical specimens (£100  50 mm)
were tested at various ages. The chloride diffusion coefficient
was calculated by the following equation:
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!
0:0239ðT þ 273ÞL ðT þ 273ÞLX d
DRCM ¼ X d  0:0238 ð3Þ
ðU  2Þt U2
In which DRCM is the chloride diffusion coefficient, m2/s; U is the
applied voltage, V; T is the average temperature of the NaOH solu-
tion, °C; L is the thickness of the specimen, mm; Xd is the average
chloride penetration depth, mm; t is the test duration, h.
2.3.5. Gas permeability
The gas permeability test was carried out according to the CNS
JTJ270-89 [44]. The detailed test process and device for measuring
gas permeability can be found in Ref [45]. Air (20 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 2 RH%)
was used as the permeable medium in this study. Three cylindrical
specimens with a diameter of 100 mm and thickness of 50 mm
were used in the tests after demoulding and curing separately for
3, 14 and 28 days. First, the specimen was dried in an oven
(60 °C). After drying, the side of the specimen was sealed by epoxy
resin, and the upper and lower surfaces were smoothed and used
as test contact surfaces. The rubber cavity with coupling agent
was used to contact the test surfaces. One end of the specimen
was connected to the atmosphere, and the other end was con-
nected to the air chamber. Meanwhile, the air chamber was con-
nected with a vacuum pump which was used to produce the
negative pressure. The experiment started when the vacuum
degree reached 0.098 MPa under the action of vacuum pump. In
order to ensure the accuracy of experimental results, the time
record started when the vacuum degree was 0.056 MPa and ended
when the vacuum degree dropped to 0.049 MPa. The whole exper-
ð1Þ
iment was carried out at 20 ± 1 °C. Gas diffusion coefficient (K) was
calculated according to the following Eq. (4).
V L
K ¼ 0:113  ð4Þ
td A
In which V is the total volume of the air chamber and the
connecting tube; L is specimen thickness, 0.05 m; A is infiltrated
area, m2.
2.3.6. Surface permeability
Three cube specimens with the size of 100 mm were used in the
tests after demoulding and at 3, 14, 28 days [31,45]. The detailed
test process and device for measuring surface permeability can
be found in Ref. [31]. Compared with the gas permeability test
device, the surface permeability device had a chamber on one side
and a fixture on the other side. A negative pressure chamber, which
was a cylinder with a diameter of 80 mm and a depth of 35 mm,
was used to test the surface permeability of the specimen. After
drying at 60 °C for 3 days, the surface of specimen was slightly
buffed by sandpaper. The air chamber with coupling agent was clo-
sely fitted to the surface of the specimen. Then, the experiment
began when the vacuum degree reached 0.098 MPa under the
4 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441

action of vacuum pump. After closing the control valve, the pres-
sure sensor started to work. As the gas entered through the speci-
men, the pressure in the test chamber would changes. The surface
permeability (SP) was calculated with the following Eq. (5) accord-
ing to the theory of air transport in porous media.
 
 ln Pi 
 Pt 
SP ¼   ð5Þ
ðt t  t i Þ

In which Pi, Pt-the initial pressure and the pressure at time t

inside the chamber, MPa; tt-the end time of test, ti-the start time
of test.

2.3.7. Pore structure

Image processing technology was widely used to extract and
analyze the pore structure of concrete materials [46,47]. The
CABR-457 hardened concrete pore structure analyzer was used to
determine the pore structure of steam-cured concrete. It is an
intelligent optical microscope image acquisition device with a
magnification of 100–200 [31,48,49]. The procedures for the pore
structure measurements are as follows. Firstly, cubical specimen Fig. 2. Non-evaporable water content of cement paste with different subsequent
curing.
with dimensions of 100  100  100 mm was cut in half with a
professional cutting machine. Then the cut surface was polished
with UNIPOL-1502 automatic grinding (silicon carbide powders
can enter the specimen to participate in the hydration reaction of
with particle size of 800, 1000, 1200 mesh, respectively.) and ultra-
cement. Meanwhile, the internal substances of specimen are not
sonically cleaned for 2 mins in an isopropanol solution. Secondly,
easy to leach, so its non-evaporable water content is less than that
the polish surfaces of dried specimens (60 °C, 2 days) were black-
of water curing.
ened with ink. Meanwhile, the pores in the specimen were filled
with a white solid (Vaseline: zinc oxide = 6: 4), and the excess
pastes were scratch off with a scraper. Thirdly, the image of pro- 3.2. Compressive strength
cessed test surface was acquired by CABR-457 hardened concrete
pore structure analyzer. In addition, the scan area was decided as The compressive strength of concretes with different subse-
80  80 mm and each test would be done for three times to calcu- quent curing conditions is shown in Fig. 3. The compressive
late average value as the final result. The stitched pictures were strength of concrete after steam curing increases with the curing
analyzed by Image–Pro Plus and each of them was made up of age. During the cooling process of the steam-cured concrete, the
42  37 small pictures. Furthermore, the complexity of the pores internal temperature gradient, pressure gradient and humidity
in the concrete was characterized with a fractal dimension by gradient formed in the concrete make the free water in the con-
box-counting dimension [50]. More detailed descriptions and crete to absorb heat and be vaporized rapidly. Under the action
device information can be found in the literature [31,45,48,49]. of the pressure gradient, the gas–liquid phase is migrated and
evaporated. This process begins on the surface of concrete and
3. Results and discussion expands rapidly to the concrete interior. As the internal humidity
of concrete is reduced, it is necessary to supply the external water
3.1. Non-evaporable water content for the hydration of cement in the concrete after steam curing. The
compressive strength of air-cured specimen is lower than that of
The non-evaporable water content of cement paste with differ- other curing methods. The air curing conditions cannot provide
ent subsequent curing is shown in Fig. 2. Regardless of which sub-
sequent curing method is adopted, the non-evaporable water
content of cement paste after steam curing increases with the
increase of the curing age. Compared with other subsequent curing
methods, the non-evaporable water content of cement paste cured
in the air is the lowest. In addition, the low humidity is detrimental
to the further hydration of the cement, so high humidity is neces-
sary for the subsequent curing of steam-cured specimen. The non-
evaporable water content of cement paste cured in saturated lime
water is the highest at all ages, the decomposition of Ca(OH)2
deposited in the pores of paste during the immersion in saturated
lime water also affects the test results of the non-evaporable water
content. The non-evaporable water content of cement paste cured
in the water is higher than that in standard curing. After steam cur-
ing, the water curing can promote the further hydration of cement
and repair the micro-cracks in specimen resulted from steam cur-
ing [51]. Meanwhile, the immersion in the water also leads to the
gradual dissolution of hydrated products that resulting in the mass
loss of paste. The increase of the porosity is beneficial to the per-
meation of water, thus increasing the hydration degree of cement.
For the steam-cured specimen with standard curing, the moisture Fig. 3. Compressive strength of concretes with different subsequent curing.
 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441
enough humidity for the hydration of cement, and it can even
cause the concrete to lose water and produce drying shrinkage,
so the rate of strength growth is slow and the compressive strength
of concrete is low.
The early compressive strength of concrete cured in saturated
lime water increases rapidly. On one hand, the existence of water
can penetrate into the concrete to promote the further hydration
of unhydrated cement. On the other hand, the deposition of Ca
(OH)2 particles in the pores of concrete can make the microstruc-
ture more dense [52]. The early strength growth of concrete cured
in saturated lime water is faster, and 28-day compressive strength
is higher, so saturated lime water curing is proven to be very effec-
tive for the concrete [52,53]. For the specimens under wet curing
and standard curing, the compressive strength increases faster
after 3 days, enough humidity can ensure the further hydration
of cement. Concrete cured by immersion in the water for a long
time is easy to produce leaching and increase pores that are detri-
mental to the strength of concrete. Therefore, the compressive
strength of concrete cured by immersion in the water is lower than
that with standard curing at 28 days.
3.3. Capillary water absorption
The specific water absorption of concretes with different subse-
quent curing is shown in Fig. 4. The specific water absorption of
Fig. 4. Influence of age on specific water absorption of concretes with different subsequent curing.
5
concretes increases with the absorbing time, but the later growth
decreases gradually, the capillary absorption of water in concrete
exhibits complex time dependence [54]. After steam curing, the
unhydrated cement particles will react further, which increases
the compactness of the concrete as the curing age increases. There-
fore, the specific water absorption of all specimens with different
subsequent curing methods is lower than that of demoulding
specimens.
As seen from Fig. 4, the specific water absorption of concrete
with saturated lime water curing, water curing and standard cur-
ing decreases with the increase of the curing age and that of con-
crete with these three kinds of subsequent curing has little
difference when the curing age is 14 and 28 days. When the con-
crete after steam curing is cured in the air for 2 days, the specific
water absorption of concrete is close to that with three other kinds
of subsequent curing. The specific water absorption of concrete
cured in the air increases gradually with the increase of curing
age, and the 28-day specific water absorption is close to that of
steam-cured concrete after demoulding. Under the condition of
air curing, the moisture in concrete can supply cement to hydra-
tion further at early age, the compactness of the concrete increases,
and the specific water absorption of concrete decreases. But with
the prolongation of the air curing time, the concrete will produce
cracks in the low humidity environment, and cause the increase
of the specific water absorption, which can also be proved by the
6 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441

Fig. 5. The initial and secondary sorptivity coefficient of concrete with different subsequent curing.

test results of strength and non-evaporable water content. Long

time moisture curing is critical to the retention of moisture on con-
crete surface and the hydration of cement [43].
The sorptivity coefficient of concrete with different subsequent
curing is shown in Fig. 5. Initial and secondary sorptivities are
found as the slopes of the experimental capillary water absorp-
tion/square root of time (t0.5) curves, as specified in ASTM standard
C1585-13. The initial sorptivity coefficient of concretes with three
kinds of subsequent curing methods has large reduction extent at
early age and small reduction extent at later age. The initial sorp-
tivity coefficient of concrete with air curing decreases first and
then increases with the increase of the curing time. In addition,
with the increase of curing time, the initial sorptivity coefficient
of concrete with other three subsequent curing methods decreases,
the reduction extent is larger at the early age and smaller at the
later age. The initial and secondary sorptivity coefficient of con-
crete cured in saturated lime water is the minimum. At the end
of steam curing, if the concrete is directly placed in the low humid-
ity air and does not cure with the moisture, which is detrimental to
the CWA, and this adverse effect increases with the curing age.

Fig. 6. Chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete with different subsequent curing.

3.4. Rapid chloride migration

The chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete with different sub-
sequent curing is shown in Fig. 6. The influence of subsequent cur-
ing methods and curing time on the chloride diffusion coefficient
of concrete is similar to that of the sorptivity coefficient of con-
crete. The test results of Fig. 6 also prove that the durability of con-
crete without water curing after steam curing is not good, and
appropriate water curing time is necessary. The coefficient of chlo-
ride ion permeability of air-cured specimen is 1.37 times that of
standard-cured concrete. It can be seen that proper wet curing is
necessary to reduce the adverse effects of steam curing on con-
crete. Early steam curing is a complex hygrothermal coupling con-
ditions. Concrete is often directly exposed to high-temperature
steam. Therefore, the exposed surface of concrete becomes a chan-
nel for moisture-heat mass exchange. Wet curing can enter the
interior of the concrete through defects on the surface, and make
the internal microstructures heal.
3.5. Gas permeability
The gas permeability and surface permeability of steam-cured
concrete with different subsequent curing is shown in Figs. 7 and
8. It can be seen from the Figs. 7 and 8 that the gas diffusion coef-
ficient and SP of air-cured concrete is the worst, while standard
curing and saturated lime water curing have better results for
steam-cured concrete. With the prolongation of the curing age,
the permeability of steam-cured concrete gradually decreases,
and the decrease rate in permeability gradually decreases. This
means that the early use of adequate water for subsequent curing
of steam-cured concrete is beneficial to improve its heat damage.
The relationship between the surface permeability and sorptiv-
ity coefficient, chloride diffusion coefficient or gas diffusion coeffi-
cient of steam-cured concrete is shown in Fig. 9. The sorptivity
coefficient, chloride diffusion coefficient or gas diffusion coefficient
increase with the increase of the surface permeability, which has a
direct linear relationship with the permeability (gas, ion and
water) of concrete. This provides a feasible method for the perfor-
mance evaluation of prefabricated concrete elements. The water
absorption, gas transmission, and chlorine ion diffusion in the con-
crete are different in mechanism, and the CWA of concrete is
related to not only the opening pores content of the concrete, but
also the capillary action of the concrete pores; however, the diffu-
sion of chlorine ions in the concrete is related to not only the pores
 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441 7

Fig. 7. The Gas diffusion coefficient of concrete with different subsequent curing.
Fig. 8. The surface permeability of concrete with different subsequent curing.

of concrete and capillary action of pores, but also the chloride bind-
ser pore distribution is mainly due to the damage caused by early
ing capacity of the constituent materials, the chemical reaction
high-temperature steam curing, and the coarsening of the pore
between ions and pore solution, and so on. While the water is
structure has become one of the characteristics of steam-cured
the medium of ions transmission in concrete, so the permeation
concrete [13]. The high permeability of steam-cured concrete is
rate of water in concrete determines the transmission of chloride
also mainly caused by pore coarsening. Compared with air curing,
ions to a certain extent. Meanwhile, gas is considered as the best
other subsequent curing regimes can significantly reduce the
permeable medium because it does not react with cement-based
macropore content, which will have a positive effect on imperme-
materials. Gas permeability is mainly related to the connected
ability. In addition, fractal dimensions and mean pore diameters
pores of concrete. It can be seen that there is a correlation among
are also characterized in Table 3. Fractal dimension indicates the
the permeability (gas, ion and water) of concrete. In addition, sur-
complexity of the pore structure in concrete. Steam-cured concrete
face permeability can be used to predict the permeability and even
cured in saturated lime water has the highest fractal dimension,
durability of concrete, because there is a clear correlation between
which means that its internal pore structure is the most compli-
permeability and durability of concrete [45,55].
cated. The air-cured concrete after steam curing has the highest
average pore diameter, which also corresponds to its porosity.
3.6. Pore structure
3.7. Microstructures (SEM)
The pore distribution of steam-cured concrete after different
subsequent curing is shown in Fig. 10. Most size of the pores are SEM(s) of steam-cured concrete cured in the distance from
mainly distributed in 0.000–0.220 and 0.500–4.000 mm. The coar- exposed surface 5 mm with different subsequent curing are listed

Fig. 9. Relationship between surface permeability and permeability of steam-cured concrete.

8 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441

Fig. 10. The pore structure of concrete with different subsequent curing at 28 days.

Table 3 standard-cured concrete. However, adequate subsequent curing

Porosity, fractal dimension and mean pore diameter results of steam-cured concrete methods can better solve this phenomenon. The saturated lime
with different subsequent curing. water-soaked and standard-cured concrete after steam curing
Subsequent curing Porosity Fractal Mean pore diameter has a good ITZ, as shown in Fig. 11.
regime (%) dimension (mm)
Lime water curing 2.06 1.145 0.806 4. Conclusions
Water curing 2.64 1.099 0.997
Standard curing 2.16 1.102 0.981
(1) The compressive strength of concrete after steam curing
Air curing 4.69 1.115 1.012
increase with the increase of the subsequent curing age,
and the growth rates are different under different curing
methods. Among four kinds of subsequent curing conditions,
in Fig. 11. Steam curing will accelerate the hydration of the cemen-
the compressive strength and hydration degree of concrete
titious materials, make the distribution of hydration products
with air curing increase at a slowest speed, and the perfor-
uneven, and the pore structure much coarser. Fig. 11(d) exhibits
mances are the worst.
the steam-cured concrete microstructure under air curing at
(2) For steam-cured concrete with subsequent curing of satu-
28 days. As can be seen from Fig. 11(d) that steam-cured concrete
rated lime water curing, water curing and standard curing,
is loose and porous, and there are lots of micro-cracks and macro-
the sorptivity coefficient, chloride diffusion coefficient and
pores in hydration products. This is closely related to the water loss
gas permeability decrease with the increase of the subse-
process of concrete during subsequent curing process. After 28 days
quent curing time, the reduction extent is larger at the early
of water curing or standard curing for steam-cured concrete, the
age and smaller at the later age. However, the sorptivity
porosity of the macropores is significantly reduced, which is simi-
coefficient and chloride diffusion coefficient of the concrete
lar to the results of the pore structure test. Fig. 11(a) exhibits the
cured in the air decrease first and then increase with the
microstructure of steam-cured concrete after saturated lime water
increase of the curing time.
is compact, and obvious pores and micro-cracks in hydrated prod-
(3) Although the CWA, diffusion of chlorine ions and gas pene-
ucts are hard to find. This is also consistent with the permeability
tration in the concrete are different in mechanism, there is
of concrete.
a clear correlation among the different kinds of permeability
The interface transition zone (ITZ) between cement paste and
(gas, water and ions) of concrete. Moreover, the surface per-
aggregate is one of the weak parts of steam-cured concrete. The
meability (SP) and permeability index (gas, water and ions)
water film on the surface of the aggregate will vaporize under ele-
are positively correlated, which provides an effective way
vated temperature to generate expansion pressure. This prevents
to predict the curing effect and durability of in-situ concrete
hydration products from growing properly in ITZ, which makes
prefabricated elements.
steam-cured concrete have a weaker ITZ compared with
 B. Liu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 256 (2020) 119441
Fig. 11. SEMs images of steam-cured concrete after subsequent curing at 28 days. a–d: saturated lime water curing, water curing, standard curing, air curing, respectively.
(4) Whether considering from the mechanical properties or
the permeability of concrete, the steam-cured concrete
prefabricated elements should be cured with the moisture
in time after steam curing, and appropriate curing time is
necessary. The air curing of low humidity is detrimental to
the mechanical properties and the impermeability of
concrete.
(5) After air curing of the steam-cured concrete, the adverse
effects caused by steam curing have not been solved well.
Steam-cured concrete still has a relatively coarse pore distri-
bution and a large average pore diameter, and the pores with
a diameter of 37 mm can still be observed on the SEM image.
The internal structure shows that subsequent wet curing can
significantly reduce the coarse pore content, and make the
microstructure more compact.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Baoju Liu: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Writing -
original draft. Junyi Jiang: Investigation, Methodology. Shuai
Shen: Formal analysis, Investigation. Feng Zhou: Methodology,
Investigation. Jinyan Shi: Investigation, Writing - review & editing.
Zhihai He: Validation, Visualization.
9
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This research work was financially supported by the National
Key R & D Program of China (2017YFB1201204) and National Nat-
ural Science Foundation of China (U1534207). The financial sup-
port by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities of Central South University is also acknowledgment.
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