See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/250613853

Concrete incorporating supplementary cementing materials: Effect on

compressive strength and resistance to chloride-ion penetration

Article  in  Aci Materials Journal · March 1999

CITATIONS READS

41 298

5 authors, including:

Min-Hong Zhang Alain Bilodeau

National University of Singapore Natural Resources Canada
141 PUBLICATIONS   8,312 CITATIONS    23 PUBLICATIONS   1,689 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

High volume fly ash concrete technology View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Min-Hong Zhang on 16 November 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 ACI MATERIALS JOURNAL
Title no. 96-M23
Concrete Incorporating Supplementary Cementing
Materials: Effect on Compressive Strength and Resistance
to Chloride-Ion Penetration
by Min-Hong Zhang, Alain Bilodeau, V. Mohan Malhotra, Kwang-Soo Kim, and Jin Choon Kim
This paper presents the results of an investigation dealing with
the effects of curing method on the compressive strength and the
resistance to chloride-ion penetration of concrete incorporating
supplementary cementing materials. The concrete was cured
under wet burlap for 7 days, followed by exposure to the labora-
tory air or cured using three different curing compounds. The
effect of the water-cement ratio (w/c) and the type of supplemen-
tary cementing materials, including fly ash, silica fume, and
ground granulated blast furnace slag, were evaluated. The com-
pressive strength of the concrete was determined at 7, 28, and 91
days, and the resistance of the concrete to the chloride-ion pene-
tration was determined at 28 and 91 days.
For the portland cement concrete with a w/c of 0.32, the com-
pressive strength and the resistance of the concrete to the pene-
tration of chloride ions were not affected significantly by the
curing conditions. The portland cement concrete with w/c of
0.55 and 0.76 and cured under wet burlap had significantly
higher resistance to the penetration of chloride ions and higher
compressive strength than that cured using Curing Compound
I. For the portland cement concrete with a water-to-cementi-
tious materials ratio (w/cm) of 0.32 and incorporating silica
fume and slag, the compressive strength of the cores taken at 7
and 28 days and the resistance of the concrete to the penetra-
tion of chloride ions were not affected significantly by the cur-
ing conditions. However, at 91 days, the cores taken from the
concrete cured under wet burlap had higher compressive
strengths than those cured using Curing Compound I. For the
concrete with a w/cm of 0.32 and incorporating ASTM Class F
or Class C fly ash, the compressive strength of the cores taken
at 7 days was not affected by the curing conditions. However, at
28 and 91 days, the concrete cured under wet burlap showed
higher compressive strengths than that cured using Curing
Compound I. For the concrete incorporating ASTM Class F fly
ash, the resistance to the penetration of chloride ions was
affected by the method of curing, with the concrete cured under
wet burlap showing superior resistance to that cured using Cur-
ing Compound I. For the concrete incorporating ASTM Class C
fly ash, the resistance to the penetration of chloride ions was not
affected significantly by the method of curing. In general, the
type of curing compounds used did not affect either the compres-
sive strength or the resistance of the concrete to chloride ion
penetration significantly.
Keywords: chlorides; compressive strength; curing; fly ash; silica fume;
slag.
INTRODUCTION
Curing of concrete at early ages is very important to obtain
satisfactory long-term mechanical properties and durability
characteristics. There are two types of curing normally followed
in practice: wet curing and membrane curing. The wet curing
ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999
TECHNICAL PAPER
provides water that can penetrate into concrete (this condition is
achieved by continuous spraying or ponding), or by covering
the concrete with wet burlap. The curing by membrane-curing
compounds rely on the prevention of water loss from the surface
of concrete without the ingress of external water into the con-
crete.
In North America, curing compounds are widely used for curing
of concrete for pavements and bridge decks. The efficiency of cur-
ing compounds in terms of their extent to prevent the loss of water
from the surface can be determined by tests such as ASTM C 156-
93. However, these tests do not have any provisions for measuring
the quality of concrete cured with the curing compounds, especial-
ly of the surface layers, which is of interest when durability of con-
crete is concerned.
The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects
of curing using curing compounds and curing under wet burlap on
the compressive strength and the resistance to the chloride-ion pen-
etration of concrete incorporating supplementary cementing mate-
rials. The effects of the water-cement ratio (w/c) and the type of
supplementary cementing materials were also evaluated.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
There is a lack of experimental data on the relative effects of
curing concrete incorporating supplementary cementing materi-
als with curing compounds and using wet burlap. This study at-
tempts to provide such information, and hopefully, will help in
the increased use of fly ash and other supplementary cementing
materials.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Tia et al.1 reported that concrete cured with a curing com-
pound for 28 days had lower compressive, flexural, and splitting
tensile strengths and higher permeability than concrete cured in
a moist condition for the same period of time.
Andersson and Petersson2 investigated the air permeability
and water tightness measured in terms of the penetration depth
of water of a portland cement concrete with a w/c of 0.5 and
cured under different conditions. The results showed that the
concrete cured in water for 2 or 5 days had much lower penetra-
tion depth of water and air permeability than concrete cured
with a membrane curing compound cured under a plastic sheet,
or cured in air.
White and Husbands3 investigated the effectiveness of curing
compounds on mortars using an absorptivity test method. Nine
different curing compounds that included wax, resin rubber co-
ACI Materials Journal , V. 96, No. 2, March-April 1999.
Received October 31, 1997, and reviewed under Institute publication policies.
Copyright  1999, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including the
making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors. Perti-
nent discussion will be published in the January-February 2000 ACI Materials Jour-
nal if received by October 1, 1999 .
181

ACI member Min-Hong Zhang is a research scientist at Natural Resources Canada,
CANMET, Ottawa, Canada. She received her PhD from the Norwegian Institute of
Technology in Trondheim, Norway. She is a member of ACI Committees 213, Light-
weight Aggregate and Concrete; and 234, Silica Fume in Concrete.
ACI member Alain Bilodeau is a concrete research engineer at Advanced Concrete
Technology Program, CANMET. His research interests include supplementary
cementing materials and durability of concrete.
ACI member V. Mohan Malhotra is Program Manager of Advanced Concrete Tech-
nology Program, CANMET. He is a former member of the ACI Board of Direction and
serves on numerous ACI committees.
Kwang-Soo Kim is a PhD candidate in civil engineering at Seoul National Univer-
sity, Seoul, Korea. He received his MEng from Seoul National University. His research
interests include safety assessment of concrete structures, high-performance concrete,
and nondestructive testing.
Jin Choon Kim is a research scientist at Ssangyong Cement Industrial Co., Ltd., of
Korea. His received his MS in civil engineering from Seoul National University. His
research interests include utilization of coal fly ash in concrete and grout.
polymer, resin, styrene-butadiene, acrylic copolymer, sodium
silicate, and acrylate types from four manufacturers were in-
cluded in the study. Six of the products evaluated met the re-
quirements of ASTM C 309. Two met the requirements of
CRD-C 300. * One did not meet either requirement.
The results obtained from the absorptivity test indicated
that the curing compounds meeting the requirements of both
ASTM C 309 or CRD-C 300 were effective in curing mortar
specimens. Mortar specimens cured with a curing compound
having a unit moisture loss of 0.52 kg/m 2 , which is close to
the upper limit of the ASTM requirement (0.55 kg/m 2 ), were
tested for abrasion resistance by a test developed by an exper-
iment station. Mortar specimens that were moist-cured at 23
C and at 38 C and 30 percent relative humidity (RH) with or
without wind for 7 days were also tested for comparison. The
rate of abrasion depth with time was found to be nearly iden-
tical for the moist-cured and curing-compound treated test
specimens. However, there was a significant difference in the
abrasion resistance of these specimens compared with the un-
cured specimens, which had a much greater rate of abrasion.
SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION
Eight air-entrained concrete mixes, including four control
portland cement concrete mixes and four concrete mixes incor-
porating different supplementary cementing materials such as
fly ash, slag, and silica fume, were made in this investigation.

Table 1—Physical properties and chemical analysis of cement, fly ash, silica
fume, and slag
Fly ash Sil-
ASTM Type I ASTM Class F ASTM Class C ica
cement (Point Tupper) (Pleasant Prarie) fume Slag
Physical tests
Specific gravity 3.15 2.67 2.62 2.16 2.99
Passing 45 µ m, percent 87.9 90.2 80.0 98.9 96.9
Specific surface, Blaine,
388 236 422 — 449
Fineness m2 /kg
Nitrogen absorption,
— — — 26.1 —
m2 /g
Compressive 7-day 33.5 — — — —
strength,
51-mm cubes, MPa 28-day 39.7 — — — —
Water requirement, percent — 95.0 — 111.6 97.1
Strength activity 7-day — 75.2 94.9 128.8 77.6
index, percent 28-day — 92.8 101.4 — 102.8
Chemical analyses, percent
Silicon dioxide (SiO2 ) 20.6 40.7 33.9 93.7 36.6
Aluminum oxide (Al2 O 3) 4.0 17.9 19.4 0.2 9.8
Ferric oxide (Fe 2O 3 ) 3.1 29.9 6.1 0.3 0.5
Calcium oxide (CaO) 62.8 2.8 28.2 0.4 35.1
Magnesium oxide (MgO) 2.6 1.1 4.8 0.5 13.0
Sodium oxide (Na2 O) — 0.7 1.9 0.2 0.4
Potassium oxide (K 2 O) — 1.6 0.4 1.2 0.5
Equivalent alkali (Na2 O + 0.658K 2 O) 0.8 1.8 2.1 1.0 0.7
Phosphorus oxide (P 2O 5 ) — 0.2 1.5 0.1 —
Titanium oxide (TiO2 ) — 0.9 1.7 0.01 —
Sulfur trioxide (SO3 ) 3.1 1.3 3.0 0.3 3.8
Loss on ignition 1.8 2.0 0.3 2.7 1.4
Bogue potential compound composition
Tricalcium silicate (C3 S) 59.3 — — — —
Dicalcium silicate (C2 S) 14.4 — — — —
Tricalcium aluminate (C3 A) 5.3 — — — —
Tetracalcium aluminoferrite (C 4AF) 9.3 — — — —

*
Handbook for Concrete and Cement, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment
Station, Vicksburg, Miss., 1949.

182 ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999

The w/c of the four control concrete mixes ranged from 0.32 to MATERIALS AND CONCRETE MIX PROPORTIONS
0.76. For the concrete mixes incorporating the supplementary Cement
cementing materials, the water-to-cementitious materials ratio ASTM Type I portland cement was used. Its physical proper-
ties and chemical composition are given in Table 1.
(w/cm) was 0.32: two concrete mixes contained 58 percent
ASTM Class F or ASTM Class C fly ash, one contained 10 per-
Fly ash
cent silica fume, and the fourth mix contained 55 percent ground Fly ash from Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Pleas-
granulated blast furnace slag. All replacement of the cement by ant Prairie, Wisconsin, was used. Their physical properties and
the supplementary cementing materials was on mass basis. The chemical composition are also given in Table 1.
concrete was cured either under wet burlap for 7 days followed Point Tupper fly ash, an ASTM Class F ash, contained 2.8
by exposure to laboratory air, or cured with three different cur- percent CaO, and had a specific surface of 236 m2 /kg (Blaine).
The ash had a relatively high Fe2 O3 content of 29.9 percent.
ing compounds. The compressive strength of the concrete was
Pleasant Prairie fly ash, which met the general requirements
determined at 7, 28, and 91 days, and the resistance of the con- of ASTM Class C ash, had a CaO content of 28.2 percent and a
crete to chloride-ion penetration was determined at 28 and 91 specific surface of 422 m2/kg (Blaine).
days.
Silica fume
The silica fume used was a dry uncompacted powder from the
Table 2—Aggregate gradation production of silicon metal. The chemical composition and phys-
ical properties of the silica fume are given in Table 1. It contained
Coarse aggregate Fine aggregate
93.7 percent SiO2 and had a specific surface of 26.1 m2 /g as de-
Cumulative per- Cumulative per-
Sieve size, mm centage retained Sieve size, mm centage retained termined by the nitrogen adsorption method.
4.75 0
19.0 0 Blast furnace slag
2.36 10
The chemical composition and physical properties of the blast
1.18 32.5
12.7 35 furnace slag used are given in Table 1. The slag contained 35.1
0.60 57.5 percent CaO, 3.8 percent SO3 , and 13.0 percent MgO. The spe-
0.30 80 cific gravity of the slag was 2.87, and 99.5 percent of the parti-
9.5 60
0.15 94 cles passed through a 45 µm sieve. The slag activity indexes at
4.75 100 Pan 100 7 and 28 days were 77.6 and 102.8 percent, respectively. The

Table 3—Concrete mix proportions

Quantities (kg/m3 )
SCM content,
Mix No. Type of SCM * percent w/c + SCM w/c Water† Cement SCM Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate SP ‡ AEA,§ mL/m 3
K1 Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 119 157 217 753 1127 5.0 392
K1R Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 118 154 214 740 1107 4.2 397
K2 Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 118 154 213 737 1104 6.0 481
K2R Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 118 155 216 744 1115 4.5 401
K3 — — 0.32 0.32 121 375 0 766 1146 9.7 405
K4 — — 0.76 0.76 166 219 0 772 1154 0.0 41
K5 — — 0.43 0.43 157 368 0 717 1075 0.2 110
K5R — — 0.43 0.43 159 369 0 718 1077 0.5 110
K6 — — 0.55 0.55 164 299 0 732 1094 0.0 70
K7 Silica fume 10 0.32 0.36 120 336 37 756 1134 9.5 534
K8 Slag 55 0.33 0.72 122 168 206 757 1136 12.7 858
*Supplementary cementing material.
†
Including water in superplasticizer.
‡Superplasticizer, naphthalene-based.
§Air-entraining admixture.

Table 4—Properties of fresh concrete

Mix No. Type of SCM* SCM content, percent w/c + SCM w/c Temperature, C Slump, mm Unit weight, kg/m 3 Air content, percent
K1 Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 18.5 210 2397 5.3
K1R Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 17.0 65 2327 6.9
K2 Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 — 75 2327 6.8
K2R Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 17.5 50 2341 6.0
K3 — — 0.32 0.32 18.5 110 2397 5.0
K4 — — 0.76 0.76 17.0 150 2299 5.1
K5 — — 0.43 0.43 17.5 95 2313 6.2
K5R — — 0.43 0.43 16.5 75 2313 5.9
K6 — — 0.55 0.55 17.5 125 2271 6.5
K7 Silica fume 10 0.32 0.36 14.5 140 2412 5.4
K8 Slag 55 0.33 0.72 14.0 180 2383 5.0
*
Supplementary cementing material.

ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999 183

Table 5—Compressive strength of hardened concrete
Compressive strength, MPa
Cores from slabs (7d † Cores from slabs Cores from slabs Cores from slabs
Unit Cylinders cured in under wet burlap then cured with Curing cured with Curing cured with Curing
SCM
Type of weight, moist room laboratory air) Compound I Compound II Compound III
content, w/c +
Mix No. SCM * percent SCM w/c kg/m 3 7d 28d 91d 7d 28d 91d 7d 28d 91d 7d 28d 91d 7d 28d 91d
K1 Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 2446 24.0 34.0 48.6 20.0 33.9 44.8 21.9 28.2 36.7 — — — — — —
K1R Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 2400 20.5 30.0 43.2 — — — — — — 15.8 21.9 26.6 17.0 23.1 29.0
K2 Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 2353 33.3 45.7 52.8 23.3 39.6 46.0 24.5 36.5 38.2 — — — — — —
K2R Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 2400 36.2 47.7 58.8 — — — — — — 25.8 33.2 35.8 26.0 34.8 38.1
K3 — — 0.32 0.32 2466 50.8 54.5 64.0 52.0 60.7 60.5 51.7 59.2 61.1 — — — — — —
K4 — — 0.76 0.76 2376 12.8 16.9 18.8 15.9 19.6 21.2 13.3 16.6 16.6 — — — — — —
K5 — — 0.43 0.43 2344 32.4 38.0 42.1 30.2 36.0 37.1 29.0 32.7 34.6 — — — — — —
K5R — — 0.43 0.43 2359 31.7 39.0 45.1 — — — — — — 27.6 29.2 32.2 27.3 32.7 33.7
K6 — — 0.55 0.55 2321 24.7 28.5 32.4 22.9 28.8 30.6 20.5 24.8 23.7 — — — — — —
Silica
K7 10 0.32 0.36 2413 53.2 66.2 63.8 57.0 72.0 80.4 54.3 69.9 73.6 — — — — — —
fume
K8 Slag 55 0.33 0.72 2481 36.5 47.6 47.8 35.6 45.4 62.0 35.2 43.1 48.2 — — — — — —
*Supplementary cementing material.
†d = days.

Table 6—Resistance to chloride-ion penetration

Resistance to chloride-ion penetration, coulomb
Cores from slabs Cores from slabs Cores from slabs Cores from slabs
Cylinders (7d† under wet cured with cured with cured with
cured in moist burlap then Curing Curing Curing
room laboratory air) Compound I Compound II Compound III
SCM content,
Mix no. Type of SCM* percent w/c + SCM w/c 28d 28d 91d 28d 91d 28d 28d
K1 Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 800 1475 320 3175 1585 — —
K1R Fly ash (F) 58 0.32 0.76 1125 — — — — 3645 2990
K2 Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 1165 1490 490 785 325 — —
K2R Fly ash (C) 58 0.32 0.76 1270 — — — — 850 775
K3 — — 0.32 0.32 1105 1500 970 1135 575 — —
K4 — — 0.76 0.76 3765 4815 6070 9625 7970 — —
K5 — — 0.43 0.43 2315 2955 2660 5100 3915 — —
K5R — — 0.43 0.43 2195 — — — — 5760 4280
K6 — — 0.55 0.55 3285 4525 3980 9970 8490 — —
K7 Silica fume 10 0.32 0.36 180 175 — 165 — — —
K8 Slag 55 0.33 0.72 515 775 — 675 — — —
* Supplementary cementing material.
†d = days.

slag, therefore, met the classification requirements of ASTM Curing compounds

Grade 100.
Aggregates
The coarse aggregate used was crushed limestone with a
maximum nominal size of 19 mm, and the fine aggregate was
natural sand from the Ottawa region. Both the coarse and fine
aggregates were separated into different size fractions and re-
combined to a specified gradation shown in Table 2. The coarse
and fine aggregates had a specific gravity of 2.70, and water ab-
sorptions of 0.6 and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Superplasticizer
A superplasticizer of sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde
condensate type was used in some of the concrete mixes. The
superplasticizer is a dark brown solution containing 42 percent
solids.
Air-entraining admixture
A multicomponent synthetic-resin type of air-entraining ad-
mixture was used in all the concrete mixes.
Two white-pigmented and resin-based curing compounds,
designated as Curing Compound I and II, respectively, and
one water-based polymer and wax emulsion curing and seal-
ing compound, designated as Curing Compound III, were
used for the curing of some of the slabs. Curing Compound I
and II met the requirements of ASTM C 309, Type 2, Class
B, and Curing Compound III met the requirements of ASTM
C 309, Type I. According to the above standard, liquid mem-
brane-forming curing compounds shall restrict the loss of
water to not more than 0.55 kg/m 2 in 72 hr. The manufactur-
er’s data sheet on Curing Compound I indicates that it will
retain at least 97 percent of the water present in the concrete
at the time of application for at least 7 days.
Mix proportions
The proportions of the concrete mixes are summarized in Ta-
ble 3.
PREPARATION, CASTING, CURING, AND TESTING

184 ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999

Fig. 1—Development of compressive strength of control port-
land cement concrete (w/c = 0.32) cured under wet burlap for
7 days followed by exposure to laboratory air and cured with
Curing Compound I.
Fig. 2—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from control portland cement (w/c = 0.43) cured under wet
burlap for 7 days followed by exposure to laboratory air and
cured with Curing Compound I.
OF CONCRETE SPECIMENS
The concrete was mixed in a laboratory counter-current mixer
for a total of 5 min. The properties of fresh concrete, including
slump, air content, and unit weight, are given in Table4.
Eight 102 x 203-mm cylinders and two 520 x 400 x 200-mm
slabs were cast from each mix for determining the compressive
strength and the resistance of the concrete to the chloride-ion pen-
etration. The cylinders were cast in two layers and consolidated on
a vibrating table; the slabs were consolidated using an internal vi-
brator. Mix K1 [w/(c + FA) = 0.32, 58 percent ASTM Class F ash],
K2 [w/(c + FA) = 0.32, 58 percent ASTM Class C ash], K5 (w/c =
0.43) were repeated (K1R, K2R, and K5R) to obtain additional
slabs for curing with Curing Compound II and III.
After casting, all the cylinders were left covered in the casting
room for approximately 24 hr, then demolded and transferred to
a moist curing room at 23 ± 2 C and 100 percent RH until the
time of testing. One of the slabs from each of the eight mixes
was cured under wet burlap for 7 days followed by exposure to
laboratory air; the other slab was sprayed with Curing Com-
ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999
Fig. 3—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from control portland cement concrete (w/c = 0.55) cured
under wet burlap for 7 days followed by exposure to laboratory
air and cured with Curing Compound I.
Fig. 4—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from control portland cement concrete (w/c = 0.76) cured
under wet burlap for 7 days followed by exposure to laboratory
air and cured with Curing Compound I.
pound I. The procedure adopted was to spray the curing com-
pound on the top horizontal surface of the slabs as soon as the
surface bleed water had disappeared. After demolding at 24 hr,
the curing compound was sprayed on the remaining surfaces of
the concrete slabs. For the slabs cast from Mix K1R, K2R, and
K5R, Curing Compound II was sprayed on one of the slabs, and
Curing Compound III was sprayed on the other slab following
the same procedure as previously described.
Concrete cores 95 x 200 mm in size were drilled from the
slabs at various ages for the determination of compressive
strength and resistance to the chloride-ion penetration.
The compressive strength of the concrete was determined on
cylinders according to ASTM C 39, and on the cores taken from
the slabs at 7, 28, and 91 days according to ASTM C 42. The cores
were not soaked in lime-saturated water prior to the testing. The
moisture content of the cores at the time of testing was, therefore,
lower than that of the cylinders cured continuously in the moist
room. The resistance of the concrete to penetration of the chlo-
ride ions, measured in terms of the charge passed through the
concrete, was determined on two disks cut from the top portion
185
Fig. 5—Development of compressive strength of cores taken Fig. 7—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from concrete containing 58 percent ASTM Class F fly ash [w/ from concrete containing 10 percent silica fume [w/(c + SF) =
(c + FA) = 0.32] cured under wet burlap for 7 days followed by 0.32] cured under wet burlap for 7 days followed by exposure
exposure to laboratory air and cured with Curing Compound I. to laboratory air and cured with Curing Compound I.

Fig. 6—Development of compressive strength of cores taken Fig. 8—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from concrete containing 58 percent ASTM Class C fly ash [w/ from concrete containing 55 percent blast furnace slag [w/(c +
(c + FA) = 0.32] cured under wet burlap for 7 days followed by S) = 0.32] cured under wet burlap for 7 days followed by expo-
exposure to laboratory air and cured with Curing Compound I. sure to laboratory air and cured with Curing Compound I.

of the cylinders or cores at 28 and 91 days in accordance with Portland cement concrete—For the control portland cement
ASTM C 1202. The curing compound on the concrete surface concretes with w/c of 0.32 and 0.43, the different curing condi-
was brushed off using a steel brush before the disks were condi- tions did not significantly affect the compressive strength of the
tioned in a vacuum container. cores (Fig. 1 and 2). When the w/c was increased to 0.55 and
0.76, the strengths of the cores taken from the concrete slabs
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION cured with Curing Compound I were lower than those of the
Properties of fresh concrete cores taken from the concrete slabs cured under wet burlap for
The properties of the fresh concrete including slump, unit 7 days (Fig. 3 and 4). For example, for both w/cs investigated, the
weight, air content, and temperature are summarized in Table 4. 91-day compressive strength of the concrete cured using Curing
The slump of the concrete ranged from 65 to 210 mm, and the Compound I was approximately 22 percent lower than that of the
air content ranged from 5.0 to 6.9 percent. The unit weight of the concrete cured under wet burlap.
fresh concrete was 2341 ± 70 kg/m 3, and the temperature Fly ash concrete—The 7-day compressive strengths of the
ofthefreshconcreterangedfrom14to18.5C. cores drilled from the slabs of the high-volume fly ash (HVFA)
concrete that had been cured with Curing Compound I were
Properties of hardened concrete similar to the strength of the cores taken from the slabs cured
Compressive strength under wet burlap (Fig. 5 and 6). However, the 28- and 91-day
1. Effect of curing conditions. compressive strengths of the cores drilled from the HVFA con-
The compressive strength of the concrete specimens cured crete cured with Curing Compound I were lower than the
under different conditions are given in Table 5 and illustrated in strength of the cores taken from the slabs cured under wet bur-
Fig. 1 through 11. The strengths of the concrete cylinders cured lap for 7 days and then exposed to the air. For example, the 91-
in the moist room were used as controls. day compressive strength of the concrete cured using Curing

186 ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999

Fig. 9—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from control portland cement concrete (w/c = 0.43) cured with
Curing Compound I, II, and III.
Fig. 10—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from concrete containing 58 percent Class F fly ash (w/c + FA
= 0.32) cured with Curing Compound I, II, and III.
Compound I was 17 to 18 percent lower than that of the
concretecuredunderwetburlap.
Silica fume and slag concretes—The 7- and 28-day compres-
sive strengths of cores taken from the silica fume and slag concrete
slabs cured with Curing Compound I were similar to the strengths
of the cores taken from the slabs cured under wet burlap (Fig. 7
and 8). However, the 91-day strengths of the cores taken from the
silica fume and slag concretes cured using Curing Compound I
were 9 and 22 percent lower than those of the cores taken from the
concrete cured under wet burlap, respectively.
2. Effect of the type of curing compound.
Fig. 9 to 11 show the effect of the three different curing com-
pounds on the compressive strength development of the con-
cretes. The type of curing compounds used did not significantly
affect the compressive strength of the concrete. The compres-
sive strength of the concrete incorporating ASTM Class F ash
and cured with the Curing Compound I was higher than that of
the concrete cured with Curing Compound II or III, but this may
be explained by the lower air content of the concrete cured with
Curing Compound I than that of the concrete cured with Curing
Compounds II and III.
Resistance to chloride-ion penetration
ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999
Fig. 11—Development of compressive strength of cores taken
from concrete containing 58 percent Class C fly ash (w/c + FA
= 0.32) cured with Curing Compound I, II, and III.
Fig. 12—Effect of curing conditions on resistance of concrete
to chloride-ion penetration measured in terms of electric
charge passed through specimens in coulombs (28 days).
The 28- and 91-day results for the resistance of the concrete to
the chloride-ion penetration, measured in terms of the electric
charge passed through the specimens in coulombs (ASTM C
1202), are given in Table 6, and the results are also illustrated in Fig.
12 to 14.
1. Effect of the curing conditions.
Portland cement concrete—For the control portland cement
concrete with a low w/c of 0.32, the different curing conditions
did not affect the concrete resistance to the chloride-ion penetra-
tion significantly. At the higher w/c of 0.43, 0.55, and 0.76, the
concretes that had been cured under wet burlap for 7 days then
exposed to laboratory air showed substantially higher resistance
to the chloride-ion penetration than the concretes cured with
curing compounds.
Fly ash concrete —The concrete incorporating 58 percent
ASTM Class F ash and cured with Curing Compound I had
lower resistance to the chloride-ion penetration than the one
cured under wet burlap for 7 days and then exposed to the air.
However, for the concrete incorporating 58 percent ASTM
Class C fly ash, the resistance of the concrete to the chloride-
ion penetration was not greatly affected by the curing condi-
tions.
Silica fume and slag concrete—The resistance of the silica
fume and slag concretes to the penetration of the chloride ions
was not affected significantly by the curing conditions.
187
Fig. 13—Effect of curing conditions on resistance of concrete
to chloride-ion penetration measured in terms of electric
charge passed through specimens in coulombs (91 days).
Table 7—Approximate age required to produce
maturity at which capillaries become segmented
w/c by weight Time required
0.40 3 days
0.45 7 days
0.50 14 days
0.60 6 months
0.70 1 year
Over 0.70 Impossible
The lower resistance to the penetration of chloride-ion (higher
values of the charge passed) for the portland cement concrete
with w/c > 0.43 and the concrete incorporating ASTM Class F
fly ash and cured with Curing Compound I are consistent with
the results of a previous investigation on the water absorption of
the concrete surface cured with the same curing compound. 4 In
that investigation, it was found that the concrete surface cured
with Curing Compound I had much higher water absorption than
the concrete that had been moist cured for 14 days followed by
direct exposure to laboratory air for 14 days.
2. Effect of the type of curing compound.
The results shown in Table 6 and Fig. 14 indicate that the
type of curing compounds used did not affect significantly the
resistance of the concrete to the chloride-ion penetration.
Discussion
The results indicated that for the concrete with relatively
dense cement paste, such as the portland cement concrete with
a w/c of 0.32 and the concrete with supplementary cementing
materials, e.g., silica fume, slag, or the Class C fly ash, the re-
sistance to the chloride-ion penetration was not affected signif-
icantly by the type of curing. In these cases, partial cement
hydration and pozzolanic reaction probably make the capillaries
discontinuous at early ages, and the moisture exchange of the
concrete with the environment is minimized.
For the portland cement concrete mixes with the higher w/c
and the concrete with the Class F fly ash, the resistance to the
chloride-ion penetration was influenced by the type of curing
provided. At early ages, external water can penetrate into the
concrete to facilitate cement hydration and pozzolanic reaction
because of the availability of continuous capillary pores. Table 7
shows the approximate time required to produce maturity at
which capillaries become discontinuous.5 For concrete with w/c
of 0.50 or 0.70, it will take approximately 14 days and 1 yr, re-
spectively, for capillaries to become discontinuous. The curing
compounds seem to be less effective than the wet burlap for the
control concretes with w/c > 0.43 and the fly ash concrete incor-
188
Fig. 14—Effect of types of curing compounds on resistance of
concrete to chloride-ion penetration measured in terms of elec-
tric charge passed through specimen in coulombs (28 days).
porating 58 percent Class F fly ash. This is because the high w/
c of the former concretes and the slow pozzolanic reaction of the
latter allow the water to penetrate into the concretes to facilitate
cement hydration and pozzolanic reaction, whereas the curing
compounds only prevent the loss of water from the surface of
the concrete.
As for the compressive strength, at least two factors may have
affected the test results. These are the effectiveness of the curing
compounds, both within 7 days and after 7 days, in comparison
with that of the wet burlap, and the moisture condition of the spec-
imens at the time of testing. According to the manufacturer’s data
sheets, the curing compounds met the requirements of ASTM C
309, which specifies that liquid membrane-forming curing com-
pounds shall restrict the loss of water to not more than 0.55 kg/m 2
in 72 hr. However, the water retention properties of the curing
compounds after 72 hr are not known. As a result, the moisture
condition of the curing-compound cured concrete at different ag-
es, in comparison with the same concrete cured under wet burlap
followed by exposure to the laboratory air, is not clear. In retro-
spect, the cores from the slabs should have been immersed in
lime-saturated water for at least 40 hr prior to testing to eliminate
the variability due to the moisture condition of the cores. Unfor-
tunately, this was not done.
CONCLUSIONS
1. For the portland cement concrete with a w/c of 0.32, the
compressive strength of the cores taken at 7, 28, and 91 days and
the resistance of the concrete to the penetration of chloride-ions
were not affected significantly by the curing conditions.
2. For the portland cement concrete with a w/c of 0.43, the
compressive strength of the concrete was not affected signifi-
cantly by the curing conditions. However, the concrete cured
under wet burlap for 7 days and then exposed to laboratory air
showed superior resistance to the penetration of chloride ions
than that cured using Curing Compound I.
3. The portland cement concrete with w/c of 0.55 and 0.76
and cured under wet burlap had significantly higher resistance
to the penetration of chloride ions and higher compressive
strength than the ones cured using Curing Compound I.
4. For the portland cement concrete with a w/cm of 0.32 and
incorporating silica fume and slag, the compressive strength of
the cores taken at 7 and 28 days and the resistance of the con-
crete to the penetration of chloride ions were not affected signif-
icantly by the curing conditions. However, at 91 days, the cores
taken from the concrete cured under wet burlap had higher com-
pressive strengths than those cured using Curing Compound I.
5. For the concrete with a w/cm of 0.32 and incorporating
ASTM Class F or Class C fly ash, the compressive strength of the
ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999
 cores taken at 7 days was not affected by the curing conditions.
However, at 28 and 91 days, the concrete cured under wet burlap
showed higher compressive strengths than those cured using Cur-
ing Compound I. For the concrete incorporating ASTM Class F
fly ash, the resistance to the penetration of chloride ions was af-
fected by the method of curing, with the concrete cured under wet
burlap showing superior resistance to that cured using Curing
Compound I. For the concrete incorporating ASTM Class C fly
ash, the resistance to the penetration of chloride ions was not af-
fected significantly by the method of curing.
6. In general, the type of curing compound used did not sig-
nificantly affect either the compressive strength or the resis-
tance of concrete to chloride-ion penetration.
CONVERSION FACTORS
1 kg/m3 = 0.0624 lb/ft 3
1 MPa = 145.03 psi
1 mm = 0.0393 in.
1 m2/kg = 4.88 ft2/lb
1 kg/m2 = 0.205 lb/ft2
ACI Materials Journal/March-April 1999
View publication stats
C = (F - 32)/1.8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
R. Chevrier and A. Ferro of CANMET performed various aspects of the
laboratory investigation.
REFERENCES
1. Tia, M. et al., “Field and Laboratory Study of Modulus of Rupture and
Permeability of Structural Concrete in Florida,” Florida University, Depart-
ment of Civil Engineering, Gainesville, Fla., Report No. FHWA/FL/DOT/
SMO-89/361, Aug. 1990, 258 pp.
2. Andersson, C., and Petersson, P. E., “Influence of Curing Conditions
on the Permeability and Durability of Concrete,” Statens Provningsanstalt,
Boras, Sweden, Technical Report No. 1987:07, 1987, 99 pp. (in Swedish)
3. White, C. L., and Husbands, T. B., “Effectiveness of Membrane-
Forming Curing Compounds for Curing Concrete,” Miscellaneous Paper
SL-90-1, Structures Laboratory, Department of the Army, Waterways
Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss., Apr. 1990, 41 pp.
4. Zhang, M. H. et al., “Deicing Salt Scaling of Concrete Incorporating
Different Types and Percentages of Fly Ashes,” International Conference
on the Durability of Concrete, Sydney, Australia, Aug. 1997, CANMET
189